


Iron Fall

by Fandoms_need_chocolate, Looming_in_Moonlight (Fandoms_need_chocolate)



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Pepper Potts, Family, Family Feels, Father-Daughter Relationship, Kidnapping, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Original Character(s), Parent Tony Stark, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Tony Stark, Russian Natasha Romanov, Sarcasm, Snark, Snarky Clint Barton, Tony Stark Has A Heart, USE YOUR WORDS!, canon? i don't know her, no one is good about talking about their feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2019-09-20 04:24:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 40,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17015673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandoms_need_chocolate/pseuds/Fandoms_need_chocolate, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandoms_need_chocolate/pseuds/Looming_in_Moonlight
Summary: One super nerd, the entirety of the Avengers and then some.  And she has to live it out being known as "Tony Stark's kid" ....great.





	1. Chapter 1

The worst kind of dream is a falling dream, because your dream could be totally normal up until that point.  Until your dream self has a misstep and suddenly there is a hole under your foot and you are falling with no end in sight.  All to wake up in a panic lurching yourself awake, heart beating a hundred miles a minute. 

Course that's what's supposed to happen anyways, the waking up part and being safe in bed.  After all it was only a dream. What one should really be afraid of is if you don't wake up and continue falling, because you can't.

 

***

 

“Mum!  Have you seen my keys?”  I've been looking for the damn things for like fifteen minutes and was inwardly cursing myself out for not putting them in the bowl like I should have. 

“Are they not in the bowl?”  Biting my tongue with a heavy sigh to keep myself from saying something nasty and sarcastic I instead chose the simpler route.

“No, I've been looking round my room though.” 

“Well why haven't you put them in the bowl?”  From where her voice is coming from it sounds like she hasn't gotten up from the couch. 

“I don't know!  Berating me isn't exactly helping.”  That time the snark came through, though definitely not as snarky as it could have been. 

“Hold on.” I didn't even have to wait a minute for her to come walking down the hall holding my keys out as if she were presenting fresh prey.

“How the hell are you so good at that?”  I grinned while saying so, earning an eye roll from my momma.

“Because I'm just that awesome, go on you'll be late.”  Just before running out the door I turn back and she's there for a hug, just like clockwork. “Have fun, text me.”

“Course mom, see you later!” Quick jog to my car and I was clattering teeth from the cold, desperately having the windshield defrost as I scraped away the snow and frost.  Nothing quite like winter, I thought darkly feeling the wetness seep into my shoes. Just fantastic!

Thankfully the defroster also had the heat going, so it wasn't too long until I started to thaw out the longer I was driving.  I suppose I could have worn better shoes than my converse but they completed my artistic shtick I had going on and I wasn't about to break and look like a crazy homeless woman like I normally do every winter. 

Besides I'm just going to a Christmas party, the homeless look isn't exactly what I should be going for socially speaking.  Course I don't actually  _ like _ anyone there, but, there will be food.  Enough said. 

Jesus people are awful when there is snow, did you all get your licenses out of cereal boxes?! 

I barely had enough time to inhale for the start of a scream seeing the person in front of me on the bridge just STOP.  Problem was, me slamming on my brakes didn't bring me to a stop as well, for I was now skidding on ice in the worst possible place to: over a fucking bridge.  Like the dramatic shit I am, I can never do anything by halves as because of this the car was spinning in circles, all before crashing over the side of the bridge. 

 

***

 

There are falling dreams, and then there are dreams within a dream. The kind where you must go through many doors, just in order to wake up.  So, you'd think that after falling inside my car to the mountains below that if I'd wake up it would be somewhere like a hospital, or a helicopter to get to a hospital. 

Not  _ still  _ falling!  Oh sure! The car is gone so that is freaking different!  The wind whipping around is making it really really difficult to scream at the sheer decibel I wanted to, and that's not for a lack of trying either.  What am I even supposed to do?! I don't have a parachute, but apparently with this kind of a death it would be peaceful since the altitude drop would make you pass out long before you hit the ground.  This was all my thoughts trying to, I dunno make me feel better, appease me or something close to it. 

A silver figure shot by much to my absolute confusion.  See? You're already seeing things and will soon be passing out.  At least that was the thought until the figure flew back up and basically snatched me out of the middle of the sky. 

“Jarvis what the hell!” I heard a male voice that was almost tinny in sound that wasn't lost to the wind.  I didn't really care, panic was making me struggle away from the unknown for whatever reason. Sure falling to your death why not go with that over the thing trying to save you…

“Stop moving kid!”  Panic won out, when in doubt make it go the fuck away.  I am not sure why my instinct was to try and punch the metal face, all I can say is that it made the face curse and a very identifiable feeling unfortunately starting up in my hand and wrist.  Blinding white blaring pain, the kind that only came from bone. I really screwed up this one. 

Course the panic didn't just cease.  That would just be wishful thinking wouldn't it? The ground was coming at much faster a pace than anyone would like to see, why wasn't he fucking flying! At just the last second he flipped onto his back using himself as a sort of cushion to try and break my fall.  Course someone really needed to tell this guy that metal really isn't the softest of landing materials, twice over if the car alarms have anything to show for it. His breaths were wheezing from being inside the suit, while I was left to ragged pained noises that were varied as the pain grew more intense.  

“Ah fuck,” I heard him say before reaching around me to pull off the metal covering on his face.  I didn't care what he looked like, too out of breath and not wanting to move. “God kid, you look like shit.” He said this mournfully, well then get your ass off the ground and get me to a fucking hospital!  Pained sounds escaped me as I started to drag myself away, I'd fucking crawl to one if I had to. 

There was a loud groan and I was being moved over, which absolutely added more pain onto what was being felt, before he stood and machinery was pulling away the metal in a way that was oh so very familiar.  I wouldn't be able to not recognize it on sight bar a significant head injury. Him turning round just sealed everything in stone, this was one of the faces of my childhood, my growing up. I saw his face more than any of my extended family, more than some of my immediate.  

Tony Stark, battered and looking right sore, was trying to pick me up and put me into the passenger seat of what could only be a car worth millions.  Well, least it was one of the ones not actually broken. 

...How the hell did he just pick me up like it was nothing?  The driver's door shut with a slam and he with great urgency started to make his way out of the garage and towards the road. 

And that's when I saw my reflection in the mirror...


	2. Chapter 2

I was a fucking kid.  A kid!! Me, a twenty year old woman was stuck in a terrifyingly young child's body.  If I thought I was in a panic from the falling before I was very very sorely mistaken.  How else is one supposed to respond to being Benjamin Button-ed? 

Hyperventilating and screaming of course.  And both of which nearly made the driver of said vehicle crash making the screaming rise quite a few decibels.  I didn't even know I was capable of reaching that particular pitch. 

“Holy fuck!” He yelled swerving back onto the road, glancing at me, then stepping on the gas all the harder.

How many emergency rooms did Malibu have?  We got to this one in only like five minutes, course the car felt like it was going close to ninety miles an hour if I truly sit and think about it. Almost chuckling at the absolute confusion on the receptionist’s face, I at least was over the initial panic for now.  That is until they were trying to put the IV in my arm, needles are a huge no go and I am not about to just roll over and submit to the most disgusting feeling in my arm. 

Tony was giving the nurse his best “help me” expression as to get away from said nurse I flung my entire injured self out of the bed and into Tony’s lap.  I didn't just stop there though, as the nurse just approached from this new angle I was attempting to just climb the guy's shoulders in an attempt to hide behind him. 

“Sir if you could just hold her please?”  I almost busted out in hysterical laughter seeing just how terror stricken he was at the request.  “Now, Mister Stark, before we have to sedate her.” Oh fuck sedatives? Hell no then I'll be put to sleep and then where will I be?

Ergo now I was just vibrating like a freaking motor fighting every instinct that was screaming for me to jump away from the incoming needle.  Course the moment it went in my arm I let out the most extreme blend of creative Russian swear words I think I've ever bellowed out. Man Yuri would be so proud of me. 

Now that the brouhaha was mostly over with just sitting in this bed as the narcotics worked into my system was super boring.  You'd think with this being Tony Stark they would be moving a helluva lot faster. The dude was a mess, anxiously standing and sitting repeatedly pacing in front of the door leaning out trying to see when someone would be coming. I was surprised he was still here, especially after I was taken for an xray showing the extent of the damage in my arm.  Plates and screws, god damnit, they do tend to talk like I'm not here since I was so amazingly silent. It's not entirely their fault, I just happen to know and understand everything they were saying. 

Finally on his tenth pacing I raised my left arm and snapped my fingers sharply enough to make him jump about a mile high. 

“You want something?  Uh water? Candy? Wait no surgery, uh-”  Rolling my eyes I made texting motions with my fingers.  “I don't know if we can find your phone, do kids your age even have phones?” 

“Your phone, stupid.”  Purposely stressing the accent I held out my hand expectantly. 

“Oh good to call your parents.”  Ha you'd think right? Instead I drafted a message for him to read and handed it back to him. 

“Request for Zofran when I wake up, I get pukey after anesthesia…” he read so quietly under his breath I hardly even heard him.  “What?” I know, me not acting like a typical snot nosed kid is a bit detrimental to fitting in but I held not puking over it rather highly. 

“Can't you read?” 

“How can you even spell anesthesia? Let alone know what Zofran is or what it does?” 

“Magic.” I clipped my response, now searching for the nurse myself.

“So you're not going to contact your parents?”  Here he seemed unsure, like he knows this is what you're supposed to say but saying it feels kind of weird.  

“If you can find them, be my guest.” I clamped down hard again in silence seeing the silhouette of the nurse and the surgeon through the part of the glass not covered by curtain.  Them being here made it so any further talking was put on hold until further notice. Very quickly after they started to do their final preparations Tony ran off. Well, nice to meet you too I guess?

It was nice once the anesthesia was given through the IV line, I was finally able to relax and just...drift off for a while.

 

***

 

Even in a total drugged out stupor I would attempt to fling myself out of a hospital bed in panic.  You know, cause I'm a total genius. Thankfully the nurse was there for me to mutter just “Cold,” to, warmed blankets really were a lifesaver.  

I already knew what was going to happen before the nurse was even able to have an expression of alarm flit across her face.  Low blood pressure, I never did react well to general anesthesia.

“Ephedrine,” I slurred between nibbling at a graham cracker, mentally slapping myself for not telling him to ask for that as well as the Zofran.  Least Mister Stark came through for me there as it was administered the moment I woke up. God bless America. 

The next hour though was filled with dozing in and out of consciousness, and the fleeting concerned thought of ‘Wow two intravenous fluid bags? Fuck I'm really going to have to pee later.’ slipping away almost before the thought could complete.  

A hand on my left arm startled me back into consciousness. 

“Sweetheart, wake up your discharge papers have been signed.” Uh, by who?  Since, you know, my parents either don't exist entirely or wouldn't know me. Glancing down at my arm I chuckled weakly seeing the red and yellow of the cast.  Coincidence? Or because of the Russian? It's hard to describe what it's like coming off of general anesthesia, because I'm sober enough to think but speaking my tongue is possessed and I can't control anything.  The only smart thing to do is remain silent like I had been before. 

I was fully expecting a social worker to be meeting me in the hall.  Would Mister Stark so easily write me off? Forget about me in the system?  The anxiety at the horrors that could entail makes me grateful for the lack of wearing heart rate monitors being pushed in a wheelchair.  

What I wasn't expecting was seeing the still disheveled Tony Stark deep in conversation with a doctor looking the most focused he's been so far in my company.  “I'll have the prescriptions sent to me, I've got the car waiting in the front.” Here I couldn't help but blink just in a daze, confused out of my ever living mind.  None of this made any sense whatsoever. 

Which I...tried to make my point in the car.  “Why?”

“Why what?”  Jesus, Mary, and Joseph how was he not beaten as a child?

“Am I here.” 

“Well you see, when a man and a woman love each other very much-”

I interrupted him, “The Zofran is almost out I will puke in your car.” All that did was spur him into full belly laughs, fully genuine in how he was enjoying himself. 

“God I like you kid, but rule one don't question it.  I am not entirely sure either and am riding the wave.”  Cocking an eyebrow at the eccentric engineer he at least amused me enough to crack a smile.  “Wow the scary Russian can smile!” 

“I'm just smart that doesn't mean I can't smile.  Should I wear two braids Wednesday Adams style?” I may still have my wit but it certainly lost its punch with just how much I was slurring my words.  

And he damn well knew it too with how he was chuckling, “Let's get back, you need to sleep this one off.” 

“What kind of drugs they plan on giving me?  Naproxen? Dilaudid? Oxycodone?” His expression was just absolutely hilarious due to the drugs.

“Were your parents doctors kid?”  Suddenly sombre I shook my head and turned to study the lights. 

 

***

 

Waking up on a couch that isn't one you know is more than a trip and a half.  Especially when the room is hella fancy and modern looking. I don't like it. 

I couldn't see the man anywhere, not that it mattered all that much really.  I don't need his help to get food now do I? I suppose it doesn't help me avoid the “helpless child” look since I was dressed in a spare shirt of his.  I did however commandeer a pair of his boxers. For some reason he decided to use duct tape to tighten it round my waist. 

Holding my cast against my chest I quietly stepped into the kitchen, automatically falling into my habits of tip toeing so as not to be heard.  Why does he have no kitchen table? What in the actual hell? So of course there were no chairs either...bugger. 

Confused I glanced left and right, the only available seating to use is a bar stool which is actually taller than I am.  You have got to be kidding me, really? Fuck it, climbing the countertops it is. It actually would have been more difficult using the stool, even if it took quite a bit of acrobatics to get to various cabinets.  

My hand hardly grasped a box of nondescript cereal before a very loud crash sounded behind me.  The feminine gasp, loads of paper, and the distinct sound of a clipboard told me who it was without even turning.  Only problem is I don't quite know how to approach this. So we were stuck just staring at each other silently until I in true comedic fashion ever so slowly shoved a handful of cereal in my mouth, by now atop his high tech fridge since he put his cereal up there like an asshole.  

“Tony!” she shrieked while clutching at her hands, “TONY!”  Holy mother bajeesus woman! She's got quite the set of pipes on her doesn't she? 

The tone must be one that he was scared of because he almost face planted whipping around the corner.  Though once he assessed the scene he grinned cockily, “Oh hi Pep! I see you've met my kid, finders keepers!” She gawked while he approached the fridge and raised a hand up. “You are literally on Oxycodone why are you up there?”  I lifted the box of cereal in answer. “And you didn't ask Jarvis for help?” My lips pursed in answer, “Of course you didn't, don't be a stubborn jackass that's my job.” 

I grinned widely baring my teeth even when Pepper interjected, “Tony!” admonishing him for the language probably.  Grasping his offered hand he swung the weight down to make me settle onto his hip, I went along with it if only to see how Pepper Pott’s eyes just about popped out of her head.  Oh my god, time to have a laugh. 

“Why do you have a little girl here Tony?” Eyeing her I let my head rest on his shoulder, totally not because I felt a wave of sleep rock through my head from the drugs...nope definitely not at all.  

“She's my new ward!” 

“Ward…”  Her tone was incredulous.

“Ward, protege, any of the appropriate descriptive nouns.”  He held his hand palm up clearly asking without words for some of the cereal.  Mentally debating it I rolled my eyes before putting some in his palm, it wouldn't hurt to have him eat more. 

“You can't just take a child!  She has a family who is probably worried sick!” 

“No she doesn't!” He said in a sing song voice turning away practically skipping off towards the garage.  

“Tony!” Her heels were clicking against the tile floor from her fast paced...trot?  “Tony Stark you get back here this moment!” 

“Pepper Pot don't ruin this for me she's like actually not stupid!”  He got the most impressive side eye I was capable of making. “Don't give me that look its a compliment.” 

“A backhanded one.”  My tone was crisp, creepy with how high pitched it was.  Still not used to that and don't think I really will be. Pepper faltered and Tony practically sparkled with glee. 

“Pepper!  You're a girl!  You'll know what to get her, no limit on expenses go wild.” 

“Or maybe ask me before you decide to buy out a Gap store?”  I muttered sarcastically, I could never escape Gap when I was younger why would I be escaping it now? 

“Gap?  Now I'm insulted, Pepper only high profile please!”  

“I'm not a doll Tony.”

“Yes she's not a toy, she's a human being!  Who needs food! Love! Attention!” Tony paused, huh, its actually really cool seeing the cogs turn in his head just by looking in his eyes. 

“You want to learn engineering?  You're not allowed to touch anything until you're sober.” 

“Oh come on!” I interjected, “You're taking me to the coolest room here and I don't even get to play?!” 

“Nope,” Pushing a pout it took no more than a few moments to pull one of my personal favorite tricks.  Crying on demand is something everyone should learn, if only to have to make your significant other feel guilty for saying something rude or any other devious plans.  The wise-guy attitude melted off his face faster than a popsicle in Arizona as he with a panic whipped to look at Pepper. 

“Pepper, crying help, what do I do?”  his arms held me away from his torso as if I were a live bomb which was actually kind of flattering.  

“Not drop her for starters.”  She sounded like she has given up on insisting he contact authorities for the time being for bigger hurdles.  “For God's sake Tony it's not like she's going to bite!” 

Tony simply shook his head emphatically, “This one most certainly will!” 

“Jesus you two need to quiet down yelling is super annoying when you're drugged out.” My right eyebrow was raised in a stoic statement of ease.  Pepper glanced between the two of us repeatedly before mumbling under her breath and marching over to collect her fallen papers and walk off. 

“Where are you going?”  I can see why he was confused, I kind of was as well.

“To do my job!”

I turned to look him in the eye. “So does this mean I'm getting real clothing now?”  He chuckled and started off again to the garage, at least I will most probably see some things explode. 

  
  
  


A/N  So I forgot to do one of these in the first chapter hello hello greetings and introductions.  Reviews and comments help me put things together and string them into a concise manner for uploading!  Also if you happen to have a funny, cute, or just all around cool idea or plot bunny you think would be awesome to add in drop it off!  Who knows it may or may not end up in a chapter oooooohhhhh.


	3. Chapter 3

“So Pepper wasn't kidding, who are you little one?”  Every single nerve in my body is telling me to run the second I heard his voice.  He would be one of the people who couldn't see my true colors of sass, that is if he doesn't piss me off. 

Refusing to answer was petty but it’s my usual shtick in the swing of things.  Plus I was reading my book, no way was I going to look away from it to talk to this jerkwad.  In the technical sense, for I was keeping him in my line of vision peripherally just so he couldn't get the jump on me. 

“Nothing?  You gotta give me something, otherwise you can't be as smart as Tony insists you are.”  You utter prick! I know a bait when I see one, and am not giving you the satisfaction of winning.  I was going to stick with that plan, right up until he placed his hand down where my back met my shoulder. 

“Get, your hand, off of me.”  I strained to keep my temper under wraps, ever so slightly it was peeking through. 

“So you do speak!  What did you do to catch my Tony’s attention little one?” His voice was oily and I could feel it running down my back, oh wait that's just his hand he still hasn't taken back. My hand may be small, but I know how to make it work.  Thank the lord I'm ambidextrous or this would have ended super badly. 

With my cast free hand I twisted to where now his wrist bones were rubbing against each other threatening to break. “Don't touch me.” As quickly as I twisted his wrist I dropped it, choosing to distance myself from the lunatic instead. He, there is no other way to describe it, looked so furious that he was ready to blow his top.  Face going purple, chest heaving from raged breaths, and the popping eyes only one who was crazed with anger could achieve. Though that wasn't the scary part, the scary thing was how talented he was at schooling his emotions into the “fatherly man” Tony knew so well the instant he heard his footsteps. So while I was stuck staring at the face of someone I knew was incredibly dangerous, Tony came strutting in only to double take seeing Obediah Stane. 

“Obi!  This is a surprise I thought you were still in D.C.”  He didn't even look at me, slipping his hands under my armpits to lift me onto the countertop for some reason, where afterwards he reached over to grab the coffee pot. “I see you've met my ward, Anika.” 

I actually really enjoyed how he pronounced my name, seeing as I just wrote it down for him to see how he would there really wasn't any way to tell him that way.  While most would say Anne-nih-kah he instead pronounced it like Uh-knee-kah. I dunno, it was unique in any case. 

Obediah’s smile looked as if it physically pained him, “Yes, indeed I have.  Have you made the proper preparations for her if you are ‘oh so deadset’ on keeping her?”  Oh I do so wonder what that could be…

Tony, judging by the immediate annoyed crease between his brows knew exactly what he was on about.  “I am not getting her a nanny Obi, nor is she going to boarding school. Instead she is staying right here.” 

I hopped down from the counter and took hold of his hand, gleeful in being able to give this very subtle middle finger to the man.  And it really was, and especially as a victory to me since Tony chose ME over this man. Behind Tony I gave the oily man a blank expression, I was nothing more than the most stoic of faces that really is just  _ weird  _ on a six year old. 

“Tony be reasonable!” he pulled a tone of... I can't even tell if it’s supposed to be paternal or sweet?  “You're supposed to be working on how you're going to move the company forward! You can't possibly do that while watching over a snot nosed kid.”  His simpering voice was just absolutely creepy and I never want to hear it again. 

Tony’s shoulders tightened ever so slightly, “I think we will be just fine.  I think you should go now Obi, there is business to be done after all.” With a firmer grip on my hand he started to head back down to the garage grabbing the book I was reading on the way.  I did notice how he masked any wince or pained face with the movements that caused them earlier, and it was distressing to know how easily he decided he had to hide behind a mask. 

“Nice choice on the shirt and hoodie kid.”  My face split into a happy grin at the words, the shirt was incredibly silly with a periodic table and the words ‘I wear this shirt periodically’ on the front paired with an ultra colorful galaxy print hoodie.  And they were the best things I've ever had as clothing in my life. 

“Pepper.”  Was all I said, and he nodded with the understanding we could only have about Pepper Potts.   She was the queen and we absolutely didn't deserve her.

***

“Tony I'm booooooorrrrreeeeddd!” I made it all the more comedic by body slamming onto a table grumbling at how he had his head stuck in a bunch of wires.  

“Well entertain yourself then.” He didn't even look up to see how I'm being hilarious!

“You literally told JJ to not allow me to touch anything that wasn't air.” I huffed blowing stray hairs out of my face, sputtering round the strands that got into my mouth. 

“And yet you're on the table.” Oh!

“Sooooo, what you're saying is anything you say is more of a guideline, not a rule.” My shit eating grin victorious with how his head snapped up and he pointed the screwdriver at me.

“No, no!  Absolutely not, everything I say is law and I can redact at any time because my lab my rules.” Jesus he hasn't even had to beat the Ten Rings and he already sounds like a dad.

I pouted, lip sticking out in an exaggerated manner to enhance the puppy eyes I have always been good at.  He faltered completely out of his element, so I decided to mess with him even further. I decided to cry, so cry I did.  It happened very quick since my face was already in position all I needed was to hitch my breaths and make my eyes tear up. 

Tony, panicked… “Aw god kid no please don't no no no no no I can't handle this! No just here wait wait wait hold on hold on I'll call Pepper she-she will know what to do, god damn crying kid how do you manage this every time just-” I couldn't keep going with this his reaction was just  _ too good _ !  He startled out of his babbling due to my screaming with laughter. 

Now I have an...ugly laugh.  It’s loud, it's obnoxious, and when I'm really going for it I. Just. Can't. Stop.

Oh my god, Tony Stark has a bitch face.  Who knew? Pepper Potts probably now that I think about it…

“Here,” he placed what looked like a mess of bits and bobs, wires and chips, in a pile next to my head with just a slight amount more force than necessary, “have at it, don't die.” 

Goodie goodie goodie!!!!  Swinging up to a sitting position I carefully started to inspect everything in the pile, moving to kneel on the table butt between my heels in order to sort things into various piles.  No doubt he fully expected me to just mess with the shit to be kept quiet, but no, I'm going to be TOUCHING STUFF. 

Awe sweet there are a few motors here, random wires, motherboards, bits and bobs oh my.  Hoo boy, the motors are all burnt out like a mofo, the hell did he do to these?

Out of the corner of my eye I could see him smiling to himself, wonder what that's about?  As I continued to play with everything in front of me time seemed to fly on, though I'm surprised he wasn't annoyed at how in order for me to be able to focus I make a shit ton of noise.  Like I sing nonsense words and just mame super random noises that consist of “doo dee doo tee dooooos!”

If this were a movie, it would have been a moment of cinematic genius the way we both looked at the screen broadcasting a news channel. 

“Tonight's red-hot red carpet is right   
here at the Disney Concert Hall, where Tony Stark's third annual benefit   
for the Firefighter's Family Fund has become the place to be   
for L.A.'s high society.” 

“Jarvis, we get an invitation for that?”  I turned to look at the man.

“I have no record of an invitation sir.”

Tony kissed his lips, before standing suddenly clapping his hands, “Right!  Kid, go get changed it's black tie.” Frowning I raised my stained hands. “Sugar, water, and a dash of dishwasher soap.  Chop chop kiddo go go go we got a party to crash!” I groaned petulantly but still hopped off the table heading off to my new room.  He should be lucky, I'm not usually this agreeable.

 

***

 

Tony driving...was a total adrenaline rush and as a total junkie I absolutely lived for it. Course I still have my seatbelt on since I wasn't suicidal, but the moment he revved the engine and took off I whooped and threw my hands up to the ceiling.

He grinned and managed to go even  _ faster _ , much to my ever growing delight. It's a damn good thing I was in the front seat though, the way he took his turns would have been enough to have me upchucking all over the upholstery if I was in the back. 

Truth be told the fact that Disney is a thing here is more than enough to keep me excited, making plans in the back of my head for future Disney binges a way to keep me busy on the unsurprisingly short drive. 

Though the moment he pulled up I felt myself blanch seeing the sheer amount of reporters and cameras just waiting for any poor shmuck leaving their fancy car. 

“Great the  _ vultures  _ are here, how did you manage to convince me to come again?” I was sneering at them through the tinted windows feeling safe with the fact that they couldn't see past it. 

“Because you wanted to see Pepper?”

“You mean YOU wanted to see Pepper.” 

“Hey no back talk, I'm the super sassy one here.” 

Rolling my eyes I smirked when I said, “Which is why I'm your second favorite child, JJ obviously being the top since he is the king of sarcasm and sass.” 

He sat with pause before smiling, “Touche kid, touche.  Right, let me do the talking and they will eat it all up, you're cute they'll love you.” 

“Tony wait!” but he exited the driver's side and tossed the keys to the Audie at the vallet boy. Thankfully he wasn't leaving without me, instead going round to open my door.  Automatically I lifted my arms, right arm slightly slower than the left due to the cast, allowing for him to pull me up onto his hip.

I will say this right here and now, I appreciate the height being held.  I was 5’6 before and a six year old's height is over half of that. Seeing him pull himself into the signature “Fuck you I'm Iron Man” stance my automatic response was to perfectly emulate him. 

The reporters went WILD, screaming for his attention cameras flashing and just an epic cacophony of noise being a physical wall slamming into us. Tony was entirely unfazed, even giving charming smiles and waving with his free hand periodically.  He's the veteran, so the logical thing would be to copy him as time went on. Looking directly into cameras I made sure to smile sweetly and wave whenever he did. 

“Hi Tony, remember me?”  I felt my smile pinch seeing the...plastic looking woman in front of us trying to be flirtatious.

“Sure don't.”  He fired back, I don't even think he spared her a glance. “You look great Hef.” he clapped the shoulder of an elderly man with Barbie looking women around him, but I turned to lean over the back of his shoulder and yelled out to him as well.

“Hi Stan Lee!” giggling a little with glee seeing the face of the man of my childhood. But as quick as the interaction has been it was over even faster.

“What's the world coming to where a guy has to crash his own party eh?!” His voice was elevated for Obediah to be able to hear him.  His fake laugh at the joke was so forced that I felt the heebie jeebies slide down the back of my neck, well that paired with the heated look of anger in his eyes directed specifically at me.

“Look at you!  Hey what a surprise,” wow...how...convincing that you're happy to see him (insert eyeroll here).

“Yeah, I'll see you inside.” Tony said but was stopped by Obediah’s hand on the arm not holding me.

“What are you doing taking her out in public? Fix this before they print that she’s your illegitimate child. I have the board right where we want them, we need to keep them there...understand?” His voice was chilly, my eyes widened and I felt like my throat was trying to swallow my tongue.

“Right…” Tony trailed off and I could see the metaphorical tail tuck between his legs as he made his way inside.  That entire scene had me feeling a swarm of terror and fury.

Inside was much less insane, and some actual nice music playing to boot.  The people were clearly snobs though much to my displeasure. 

Tony lowered me to walk on my own, but still I held a death grip on his hand.  He went straight for the bar, “Get me a Scotch, I'm starving.” 

Placing my hands on the counter I rose up on my toes, “Can I have a Shirley Temple I can drink?” the bartender pulled his slightly annoyed expression from Tony and as soon as it landed on me spread into one that could only described as soft. 

“Why of course sweetheart!  And how polite you are!” the sheer struggle to keep up the “cute child act™” and not slip into the snarktastic self I am really was painful.  However I simply smiled and nodded.

“Mister Stark?” that voice, one I also knew very well caused my face to go white as a sheet. 

“Yeah?” Shield, how could I have forgotten about shield?!  I'm such an idiot!

“Agent Coulson,” 

Tony nodded, “Ah right from the uh…”

“Strategic Homeland Intervention,   
Enforcement and Logistics Division.” Tony shot a glance at me, with a raised eyebrow.  As a master of reading faces this one was just a single word, ‘wow’.

“You guys really need to get a new name.”  I mean I've heard it before and they were certainly right, someone  _ really _ wanted their initials to spell SHIELD. 

“Yeah, I hear that a lot.  Listen, I know this must be a trying time   
for you, but we need to debrief you.  There's still a lot of unanswered questions, and time can be a factor   
with these things.”  These poor bastards, they seem to really think they're going to get a debrief out of him, even with them not being forthcoming with any information. 

My attention was pulled away by the bartender, “One Shirley Temple for the little lady.”  Hell yes! Clamoring up onto the stupidly high bar stool, I went to town trying to fish out the cherries at the bottom.  Here I ignored everyone because really this function was just boring as all hell...wait...if Coulson was here what's to say he is the only one?

The thought hardly crossed my mind before I noticed the woman sat to my right.  Oh, no.

Hopping down from the stool I felt ever so slightly panicked seeing at least five agents kind of badly hidden.  Five?! That seems a bit excessive?? Right? 

Tony was circling to the bar again, though I chose to take the long way round. 

“Hey kid,” he muttered, hand landing on my head and into my curls seemingly of its own free will with how lost in thought he seemed.

“Wow. Tony Stark.” the clipped tone of the scorned woman breaking him from the reverie.

“Fancy seeing you here...Carrie.” 

Her stoney face had the nice addition of looking like she sucked on a lemon, “Christine.”

“That's right,” I was glancing between the two as if this were a verbal tennis match.

“You have a lot of nerve showing up here tonight.  Can I at least get a reaction from you?” She thankfully hasn't seemed to notice me yet, I don't want to be on the receiving end of...that.

I zeroed in on the pictures in her grasp, god, it's just so real seeing it being physically here. And jesus they're STILL talking!!

“Kid, take this and go request the car.  Think you can handle that.” it wasn't a question, yet still I nodded.  The faster I do this, the faster we leave which is something I am all for. Plus, this way I don't have to have his second run in with ‘Obi’.

  
  
  


A/N  Plot is comin along!  I oh so enjoy the epic amount of sass and sarcasm. That and IronDad, even though he absolutely doesn't realize yet what he is doing.  Reviews catch what I miss, and tune in next time.


	4. Chapter 4

Have you ever been in the passenger seat where the driver is an angry adult?  Where they're so angry that their knuckles were white on the wheel, breathing harsh, jaw clenched tight, and they just gave off waves and waves of fury that made you sick to your stomach?  Supposedly most people have at least once, parents were angry about a not so amazing grade, insert other typical reason here, but to someone who was far too used to it absolutely all of my bravado had vanished the moment he stepped on the gas.  Anxiety was making me feel nauseous and unsettled, eyes flicking over every now and again just to be sure it wasn't getting worse. This was so much scarier than all the other times because I didn't KNOW him, not really, how could you predict what you don't know? 

At the Malibu mansion we parted ways where I desperately tried not to sprint up and out of the garage with the excuse of “being very tired and wanting to sleep”.  Truthfully I don't think he even heard me, instead staring at the armor that now matched my cast. 

He had already made up his mind on what he was about to do, which I fully supported because terrorism can go to hell.  However, since I was going to be alone here and big spaces freak me out in the dark, I made a pit stop in the kitchen where I nicked a small paring knife.  Small enough for me to use, and yet not be stupid and cut myself.

It took forever and a half to go to sleep, I could toss and turn since the mattress was pulled slightly away from the wall.  This was to allow for easy access to the cavity I carved out specifically for my new nighttime sleep aid. It may be super weird and made for a psychologist’s field day, but in the world where assassins literally come dime a dozen it's not a stupid idea to have. Dear god I have got to get some therapy.

 

***

 

Tony wasn't there come dawn, not that I expected it knowing he flew cross the world in the dead of night.  But truth be told I was BORED, bored out of my ever living mind. I was not meant to function by myself in any capacity since if I was bored I got into shit.  My grandfather loved to say that my nimble fingers when idle were prime for the devil's work.

And man hoo boy, he was most certainly right.  So far I've managed to get my hands on the toaster, or...what's left of it at this point.  The pieces and scrap were strewn out in my own order that looked like utter chaos to the untrained eye.  If it's one thing I'm good at it is sorting what seemed to be nonsensical shit into a system. 

“Tony?” Ew, what is  _ he  _ doing here?  “Oh hello there little one, have you seen Tony?” Shaking my head with a negative I continued with widdling the wires to try and make connections.  “Not at all?”

“He was mad.”  Understatement, major understatement.

“So he isn't here?”  Even though I knew damn well he wasn't, I just shrugged impassively. “Damn, that's a shame.  Oh well, I always could do his job that he so desperately wanted and keep you company.” 

“I don't need any,” Please take a hint, Jesus.

“What are you up to?”  And ladies and gents, with my nonbinary peeps in tents, we have someone who refuses to take a hint.  Shrugging yet again held up the passive aggressive thing I was going with. “Gonna fix the toaster when you're done?”

“No, that's impossible since I'm scavenging pieces.” Honestly how stupid can he be?

He crouched down elbows resting on his knees in front of me, little too close there buddy. “Does Tony let you make stuff?” Shrugging dismissively while twisting various wires together I thought back to how he only gave me burnt out stuff yesterday.

“Not cool stuff,”

“Does cool stuff go ‘boom’?” At that I couldn't help but smile a little. It was rather funny and really very true.  He chuckled with a knowing smile, “I figured, you could be just like him you know?” 

“Could?” I was genuinely curious now, like it or not this man truly knew Tony better than I did and I wanted to glean any smidgen of detail I could.

“Yeah!  You remind me of him when he was a boy, curious.”  Fidgeting with the scraps with my fingers, I chewed on my lips, why was he doing all this?  He has shown how much he didn't like me being round so what changed? 

The beats of silence just made things uncomfortable and more weird than they were, so I turned away and decided lunch was the go to.  Food, ladies and gents, is the way to my ever eternal happiness. No doubt about it especially since I say so, so it shall be written so it shall be done kind of a deal.

Being this short is one of my worst nightmares come to life.  Melodramatic, I know, but one tends to develop a complex after having their head used as an armrest by an asshole tall person.  Now the height I am...was...nothing to sneeze at. Five foot six even! Quite proud of it since my mother was four inches shorter and I look almost exactly like her in every way that counts. 

Which segues into how Tony STILL doesn't have a freaking step stool in his kitchen.  He is challenged in stature he should know how I feel! So now Stane just gets to watch as my somewhat less loopy self was climbing my own personal kitchen version of a jungle gym to search for whatever junk food Tony kept in this joint.  It's been a while since my last dose.

“What on earth are you doing little one?” 

Mentally rolling my eyes I at least only had a smidge of snark when replying with a single, “Food.”

“Yes, little one, I can see that.”  With silent celebration came the pop tarts that were shoved into the back of the shelf.  Like I couldn't sniff out junk food, tsk tsk Tony. “You shouldn't eat that, it will rot your brains.” 

Single brow raised in poised elegance, I didn't respond other than bite into the pop tart.  I have the sassily eating something down to a total science I swear to god. A flash of pain shot up my arm and instinctively it pulled into my chest, face pinching hard to hold in any verbal vocalizations of pain.  Fear was a total shot of adrenaline, he saw, he  _ saw _ I was in pain.  That I was currently  _ weak _ . 

The terror took hold and with surprising agility the sheer speed I used in jumping down and sprinting out of the kitchen was almost unbelievable.  All I knew was that I had to hide, had to get away, even better was I took him completely by surprise enabling a clean-ish escape. 

If you don't count the scrambling as my feet struggled to make purchase on Tony’s stupidly smooth and slick floors, that is.  But even with the slip n’ slide action I still was able to dive for the closet in the room Pepper had all the stuff that was meant for my use put into. I'm not foolish enough to call it my room or my stuff, no way was this in any sense permanent.

My breaths shook for all of ten seconds before managing to tilt my head straight upwards to the ceiling causing the breathing out of my mouth to now be silent.  Well, hopefully silent, my heartbeat was pounding away in my ears making it excruciatingly difficult to gauge how quiet I actually was. Fuck, I forgot my knife!  I just went to hide like an idiot and utterly missed snatching my weapon like a total dumbass.

His footsteps were slow, my brain instantly linking them to those of a predator, and not the slow steps of one who is getting up there in age. 

“Bit skittish aren't you little one?  Did I frighten you?” My spine locked hearing him enter the room, hand and feet pressing into the floor ready to run at a moment's notice.  But then there was the sound of plastic sliding against itself and electronic beeps. “Miss Potts? I seem to have managed to scare Tony’s new houseguest, maybe you might have more luck than I do.”

I couldn't hear her response, these phones not being exactly amazing in any way since it’s 2008, but judging how he hummed as he hung up it seemed she was going to be over in just a moment. It was comforting being blanketed in the darkness, it just meant that you couldn't be seen.  

“Think you might come out for Pepper?  She might not be the most maternal of the lot, but we'll see how it goes.” Why won't he leave?  Please dear god make him leave. 

He opened the closet door though really wouldn't be able to see me what with the load of clothing hanging in the way and how my body was attempting to shove its way through the wall.  My heart was in my throat, wait, wait what is happening? Without my consent my body was crying, silently at first, but terrified sounds mixing with gasps that he  _ definitely  _ heard.

“Oh what's the matter little one?” Go away, go away, go away, go away!  He just...sat there the entire time, waiting to see if I would come out on my own.  Not bloody likely mate. If he really wanted to play the waiting game I most certainly was willing to play.  Though willing was entirely different than “able to”; the longer I was in here the longer I didn't have a dose of pain medication, and that was quickly going to become a problem.

Already was one judging by the tears leaking out of my eyes.  I never ever cried out of pain, it just didn't happen, showing how not okay things were.  Breaths short and labored, I was starting to wonder if I could outlast him.

“Are you going to come out?”  Shut the hell up, “I saw your bottle, you've missed a dose.”   Why did I leave it out?! “Must be feeling quite uncomfortable by now.”  No shit man, “I can help you, Anika.” The sudden sharp tone on my name made me gasp and jump nearly out of my skin.  “Your pill is right here in my hand, all you have to do is come out here.”

God I was weak, I was really really weak.  The prospect of being out of pain, relaxed, and just being able to sleep was too much to deny myself.  I couldn't even argue with myself mentally over going straight into the open alligator’s maw.

Slowly, ever so slowly, my left hand parted the hanging clothes.  However that did not mean I was entirely willing to exit the cave-like room, the more pain I felt was the deciding factor sadly though.  His smile was warm and encouraging, very creepily in a grandfather’s manner, and he was kneeling on one leg with his arms outstretched. His eyes were even crinkled from the smile; the fact that it actually reached his eyes was more than a little odd, it just didn't make any sense!

“That's it,” one of his hands was closed around what could only be a pill, “there we go, soon you can sleep.” I gave in, he wouldn't do anything to hurt me as of this moment, I was like 70% sure of that, and by now I was desperate.  So after chugging the water he had with him to down my medication things were getting hazy, sleep almost readily getting closer to being a reality. 

He with surprising strength picked me up to take me into the foyer, though as I got more sluggish I couldn't tell the passage of time due to nodding off.  

Finally I slipped under, only briefly taking notice of how the side of my face was on his shoulder before everything was just nice and fuzzy.

  
  
  


A/N  I haven't been able to work on this for like weeks because yaaaaaaay job (adulting, it sucks but hey money) things are slowly coming together since a lot of my ideas are to future events.


	5. Chapter 5

There is a warm body holding me in a cradle, it's nice, very nice. It almost smells like my grandfather, my eyebrows scrunch and my face starts to twitch. Something was wrong, my grandpa only ever held me as a baby and the only reason I knew what he smelled like was having to lift him.  He's been on the verge of passing for the longest time, and he was so weak that it took all of us using sheer complete and total strength of will to even get him to stand. 

And now it comes to trying to force myself to wake up, it's extremely difficult getting around the stupor of the drugs. 

“Welcome back to the land of the living, little one.” I'm still stoned out of my mind, any reaction other than a snuffle was really asking way too much out of anyone, let alone my tiny body. 

A whine came out with a wheeze, “There you go, hey Miss Potts?  Would you mind getting a glass of water for us?” My body was still lax, and I felt my eyes forcefully blink open but definitely glazed over if the blur in my vision had anything to say about it.  This kind of reaction was weird and doesn't make any sense. Why couldn't I move?

“Up you get, that's it little one that's it. You won't remember but your pain got ahead of your meds, if you feel a little funny that's just the new pain meds.” New pain meds?  How could I have gotten new pain meds? There wasn't any time FOR me to have gotten new neds...right?

“Tony?” I slurred, trying to drunkenly flop my head down onto my shoulder looking in the direction I heard Pepper’s garbled voice coming from. 

“He's not back yet sweetheart,” she said practically materializing in front of my face.  Well that just means it's like… still in the time span of the same day Obediah gave me my pain pill.  So what the hell?

“Wan Tony!”  great, drugs always made me emotional, but whatever the hell this is makes me instantly weepy.  At least it wasn't entirely out of character for how I looked, but now I was being held by Obediah just sobbing uncontrollably. Pepper looked completely out of her depth, glancing upwards with panicked eyes.  She deals with the human disaster that is Tony, children seemingly are not up her alley. 

“Oh here we go,” Obediah chuckled before hefting me round as if I were a sack of flour.  From there he stood up, a well seasoned veteran to the “bounce and rub the baby please dear god stop the crying” technique since I was being bounced all over the place.  My body is six not a baby!

The wails pitched in a furious cry, I wasn't just going to freaking settle without a fight.  Though a fight is what they were prepared for since my mouth was assaulted with the salty taste of his fingers, all before being covered by the rest of his hand. 

It was an arduous fifteen minutes of weak struggling, but I could feel the moment whatever the hell he did took effect.  

“What did you give her?” Pepper still had the tone of being alarmed in her voice, but I couldn't see her. I couldn't even  _ move, _ what in the actual hell was that?

“Ativan, her Doctor prescribed it just for any incident like this.  She will be nice and relaxed now, I bet you feel all better huh little one?”  Seeing as I was given a sedative, yes, unsurprisingly the answer to that question is I am a floating wave of peace.  It's the kind of feeling where I just know my eyes are just blown wide and that I must have quite the amusing expression on my face.

Probably because I felt myself reach up a small hand and pat at the top of his head and whisper, “Shiny!” My lips pursed confusedly, why did I just do that?  “Don do drugs kidshh.” Everything I was saying was slurred, toeing the line of incomprehensible.

He laughed again and turned, probably to face Pepper, I had my eyes closed cause I was just SO tired.  “I'll take things from here, I have work to do back east could you throw together a bag for her? She shouldn't have been left on her own the poor thing, don't know what Tony was thinking.” What no I don't want to go with him, why is he? What? No!

“How many days?” She sounded almost resigned, as if she expected to have to do this at some point. “Why don't we just contact CPS to have her be put elsewhere Obediah?” Yeah that's what I was wondering to be honest. 

He let out a heavy tired sigh, “That was going to be my initial plan, but,” he sighed again and definitely adjusted the way he was holding my dead weight with affection, how weird. “I had a hunch, now normally I would have just written it all off but I just had a  _ feeling.”  _ He stressed the word to where even with how out of it I was I was starting to want him to just get on with it and spill the freaking tea already. 

“And?” she prompted, anxious to figure out whatever the hell was going on. Yeah me too sugar. 

“Pep, she's his.” What. The. Fuck.

“Oh god,” there was a slap as her hands landed over her mouth in shock. “How did you?” 

“Haven't you seen the way she behaves?  You didn't see how he was as a child, it's as if I'm being sent back in time.” Why was he saying all this with a wistful smile? This is just absolutely bizarre. And, obviously, a total falsehood.  Clearly he was making it so that I could stay here legally for some motive and agenda much to my absolute confusion.

“Can she hear us?  Or understand what's going on?”

Yes.

“No, she was given enough to make her sleep.  I don't think we should tell them, yet Pepper.” She gave a noise of interjection which he talked over, “Do you think he needs yet another shock on top of everything else?  And yes she's smart, brilliant in fact, but still barely a baby. No need to rest this on her little shoulders.” He cooed before the rocking motions changed to the kind where he would be walking. 

“What do I tell Tony?  Whenever he makes it back?”

He paused, “Whatever you feel is best, you always do.” A car door opened and I felt him duck down.  Some jostling almost knocked my head into something, what does he think he's playing at! Oh it's a car seat, where did that come from?  Tony didn't even have one for me to sit in with the Audie.

A hand caressed through my hair and down the side of my face.  “We have a lot of work ahead of us little one,” But I'm too tired to work, but, but, just… “Go to sleep little one, stop fighting it.” I stopped fighting the wave of darkness.

 

A flash of going through a city in the car.  Lifting off in a plane. 

In and out, in and out.  Noise and ringing mixed with confusing color. 

 

A straw pushed past my lips as I automatically drink the cool water.  Too fast, because I coughed. A chuckle and a hand rubbing my back, “Slow down there, it isn't going anywhere.” 

 

I was finally able to wake up.  Really wake up, and jesus I am so hungry I could eat a horse.  The first question though was, where the hell am I??? It is absolutely unacceptable that I have to continually ask that question day in day out in this damn universe.  Hmm in the multiverse would this one be considered the “every time you lose consciousness you get moved” one? That's a thought to be tabled for another day. 

I almost don't want to trust my hazy memories because...they feel like I was dreaming to be perfectly honest.  But enough of it was true to pinpoint the, quite frankly, in your face-ness of my location not being the Malibu mansion. 

This was most certainly a city, far below to where people look like ants, and lights making the buildings look alive even if there were no stars to accompany them. 

It was cool, weird and totally a culture shock, but cool.  Tip toeing out of the bedroom I was currently in lead me to more unrecognizable rooms.  Seriously what was with people here taking me to places and leaving me to figure out everything by myself?

However, I wasn't as alone as I thought.  Sitting on the couch was Obediah, nursing a glass of...scotch?  Whiskey? I can't tell from this far away. He looked up when my toe cracked and smiled warmly.  Did someone pull an invasion of the body snatchers?

“Oh wonderful you're awake, I  was getting worried how you would take jetlag. But it looks like you only woke up a little early.”  That...doesn't answer any of my questions. No wait it sort of answers one, I've travelled far enough where jetlag would seem to take its toll.  

“Where are we?”  Yes and when could I go back pretty please?

“D.C, I have some work to do here.” Some more answered, but wow I have  _ so many  _ questions.

“And what about me?” He took a long sip from his coffee cup, slurping the entire thing like an ass.

“I have a babysitter coming soon, be nice they'll give you a treat.” 

I’m...a dog… apparently, bloody hell. “Why am I here?” another highly important question really. 

“Tony left you, a six year old, home alone without proper supervision.  He's lucky no one was able to call authorities on him.”

“I was fine.” I scowled  and stared hard through the window to not be able to truly see him in the eye.  

“I'm sure you were.” the patronising tone was difficult to not respond to, it's exactly as he wanted.  Nodding was what was needed, which I did yet there was a bad taste in my mouth. Gotta enjoy the espionage thing right?  Right? God what a day today is going to be...

 

A/N

Well that happened, in between being sick and working somehow I got this together. Until the next time


	6. Chapter 6

It's official, I have absolutely zero sympathy for the unfortunate people I consider stupid. And at this very moment the unfortunate gal Obediah hired to be my babysitter was a complete and total airhead. Jesus she is the kind of human being that blonde jokes are written about.

For example I've managed to give myself a headache from how I strained myself, giving my eyes a work out rolling them for the nth time. She's sweet, don't get me wrong, but it's like cotton candy you can only handle her a bit at a time. And to think she's supposed to be in charge of me!

She keeps trying to treat me like a toddler, tea parties without even going through the effort of making any damn tea for example. Was this some roundabout yet ingenious form of torture? In any case it was certainly working since I'm about to cry uncle. I never did well with babysitters, though for an entirely different reason when I was a child the first go round. Panic attacks from separation anxiety hoo boy those weren't pretty…

I'm literally about to either shoot her or myself. There is only so long one can feasibly keep themselves locked in the bathroom before she would try to pull me out. Not on my watch, you're certainly not getting in here twinkle toes.

"Anika? Anika sweetie open the door!" Is she? Is she  _crying?!_  "Anika you're really scaring me open the door!" Not with that kind of crazy on the other end I'm not.

"Go away Molly! Your goddamn smothering is more wanted elsewhere!" I yelled through the door, hmm, this toothbrush would make an excellent shiv. No, shiving her would be too much...for right now at least. Too messy as well, don't even have the things to cover my own ass. No killing her seems out of the question...again for now.

"Molly?" Oh thank GOD, I threw the door open, shoved my way past her and stormed down the hall to the door.

"Jesus thank god you're here!" I viciously pointed my finger back at her, "Get her the  _hell_  out of here!" I was being mean, and I knew it, however a sufferer of fools I was not and mustering up enough empathy for this one was far more effort than I was willing to spend.

"Anika," Obediah started but shook his head and turned to face Molly, who looked more than a little wounded, "I shall give you your check, meet me by the door with your things." Leaning ever so slightly to the side I could see a group of people in the entryway behind him. Who the hell did he bring now?

"Who are they?" I'm going to have no lips by the time I reach adulthood again seeing as they so far have been permanently pressed together.

"They, are going to give you some stuff to read. Then you're just going to have to answer the questions at the end." Oh wonderful, I'm being tested...AGAIN!

"Why? I don't want to." It was amusing watching that little vein above his temple just  _pop._  Aw, he held himself together with a deep, measured breath and settled into a terrifyingly paternal grin.

"Because I said so, Anika." I raised an unimpressed brow.

"That's a fallacy, you need a better argument." I heard one of the men in the doorway snort but cover it badly under a cough. "Did you already pay for them where sending them away would thusly make it a waste?"

"What the fuck?" I heard someone whisper under their breath, and it took everything I had to not smirk.

"Yup, a total waste." Like the air every time you breathe dear. Rolling my eyes I allowed him to lead me to sit at the kitchen table in this joint, more wanting to just get things over with than anything else.

"How long will this take?"

A packet of papers landed in front of me as well as a packet of pencils. "That all depends on you dear," ah the man was a Scot! Ugh, I'm just not...into putting in that much effort. But at the same time the idea of underperforming is enough to put the taste of bile in the back of my throat.

I pouted, but peered under the first page curiously. One of the men squatted down so I would have to tilt my head down to look him in the eye. "Now, are you ready hon? You can take breaks if you need them and if the questions are too much you could just skip them."

"She won't need to skip willy nilly, don't underestimate her Mister Dunlap." Like, he was defending my intellectual honor, but at the same time he annoys the crap out of me.

Furrowing my brows and scoffing a sigh I decided to just hunker down and get it over with. At least I knew what was going on this time around, the first time I was seven and just kind of did as I was told because I used to be agreeable. The results weren't bad, I don't recall the majority of them other than I had the intelligence of a sixth grader across the board. Not bad, if I don't say so myself.

However everyone was just watching me while I read, for some fucking reason Molly was still here as well.

"Could you all not gawk at me like a lab rat? Thought she's s'possedta go home!" I waved my hand in her general direction, not even looking up from the packet. God they were distracting, how was anyone supposed to even attempt to concentrate like this?

"So who exactly is this kid related to?" A younger man in the group muttered under his breath, then winced when someone stepped on his foot.

"Shut your goddamn mouth Jerry, we're being paid for discretion not to wonder who the brat is." Insert eyeroll here, I'm a fucking delight!

I don't remember the testing taking this long the last time? Was it supposed to last like four hours? Some of this stuff is weird too, nothing I've really seen before yet somehow I was managing to make connections to find whatever answers they needed. If that makes any lick of sense.

By the time I finished Obediah had received countless phone calls, ringing off the hook until he gave in and finally answered the damn thing. Whoever was on the other end wasn't happy, because I could hear the volume of the yelling and see him tear the receiver from his ear.

Wait, "Is that Tony?" I frowned at the overwhelming sense of excitement that came over me at the idea of it being him, that's not good.

The yelling got louder after I spoke, so whoever it was recognized my voice. Yup, definitely Tony then. What is he so upset about?

Obediah hung up with a deep controlled sigh before smiling ruefully, "Looks like you're going back to Malibu, it appears Tony has noticed your absence." The 'he is super pissed off about it' was left unsaid but it was still so  _confusing._

With a shrug I sipped again at my milkshake, oreo with chocolate chips if anyone was curious, and glanced down at my hands. Goddamnit, I've been picking at the skin around my nails again, the skin of my hands just never could lose that ragged appearance.

Obediah was nothing if not observant, didn't rise up with Stark senior without it, so of course he noticed when I realized what I was doing. "What's the matter?"

I really didn't want to answer, it was a stupid thing to be worried about anyways the way I was mentally wording it all. The basis of it, my abandonment issues, was just now bleeding into my wanting to latch onto the first person who seemed to want me and desperately wanting to keep it.

"What's going to happen when he doesn't want me anymore?" Foot, meet mouth, what the hell?

His eye brows just about flew up his forehead, "What's brought this on?"

I chuckled darkly, "Everyone leaves, I'm not stupid enough to think it's permanent. Who would want a kid that doesn't even act like one?" I would do terribly in foster care I can already see it.

"That's not going to happen Anika,"

"Don't make promises you can't keep, it's not becoming. When am I leaving?"

I wanted to at least finish my milkshake first. "You'll be leaving in fifteen minutes."

This time I was actually able to experience the private plane. It was awesome! Any choice of music literally at my disposal with no ads, take that spotify! Wait does spotify even exist here? Is it even made yet? Ugh time travel is SO weird...add that to the interdimentional travel...crap.

Also they made the fanciest glasses of strawberry lemonade I've ever seen, complete with a strawberry slice sitting on the rim and sugar coating it like a margarita. Jeez he is such an alcoholic, not without good reason but  _still_!

I expected the flight to take six hours but, Stark plane, it only took three which holy hell jet lag.

Tony had a complete stone face going on behind his sunglasses, have to admit was not expecting for him to be waiting for me on the tarmac. He was dressed impeccably, not a strand out of place and everything planed to a T. My instinct to seeing him looking like that was panic and guilt, the kind you feel when your hand is caught in the cookie jar.

Without a word he opens the car door, not even giving a motion to tell me to get in other than the vibes coming off of him in waves. I am not exactly sure how to handle this, why is he angry? Yet again, shit doesn't make sense. He thankfully didn't slam the door, loud noises just suck.

My hair was down, strawberry curls falling in front of my face like a protective curtain to hide behind. It was only because I couldn't see him was I able to break the painful painful silence. "Are you mad at me?" His neck cracked as his head snapped to his right.

"Excuse me?"

"Are. You. Mad. At. Me." I almost was gritting the words between my teeth.

"No." Amazing, your acting skills could rival mine Tony.

"I don't believe you." I muttered while determinedly keeping my gaze locked on the passing cars.

"Well if you don't like the answer why ask the question?" I whirled to face him, hair flying.

"Because you're either mad at me for a reason, or you are taking out your anger at another person on me and I don't fuckin like it!" My pulse was racing in time with my harsh breathing.

His anger rose right up to meet mine, "Watch your mouth, don't you talk to me that way!" Bitch! I hope the fuck you do!

"Fuck you Tony! You take me then you leave me make up your damn mind because I refuse to be placed back on the shelf!" Steam was just about racing out of his ears, I'm not looking forward to his response. "Stop the car. Stop the fucking car!" I roared to where I felt my right ear pop.

The car's brakes screeched from coming to a halt, but I hardly allowed for the dust to settle before throwing the door open. I didn't have to sit and endure this!

"Anika you get back into this car right now!"

" _Make me."_ I thought I was putting it in a way of 'I am staying out here and that's final' but he took it as 'I fucking dare you'.

He got me back in the car; it took grit, spit, a whole lotta duct tape, blood and tears, but he did. It was the most tense ride I've ever been on and the both of us were crackling ready to explode yet again.

We got absolutely nowhere with figuring out what the problem was, which okay a little my fault but definitely not completely.

"I didn't leave you, I had to clean up the mess over in Afghanistan." Dear god is he actually opening up?!

"You were gone long enough for Pepper to want to call CPS and Obediah taking me across the country." I was trying desperately not to cry, throat closing jaw clenching, but I still felt my eyes burning.

"And yet you went with him." Jesus Christ almighty to God, he can't be for real?

"Yeah," I scoffed wetly, "see you be responsive on an unknown narcotic and ativan where the dose is enough to knock you unconscious."

He was silent, for so so long, processing and whatever else he needed to do. "Want to come with me into the lab? I can teach you how to code." I smiled and mumbled out an "okay," this was a Tony Stark apology. His version of offering peace, without actually making it obvious.

"I don't wanna go back with Obediah anymore, he was making me do all these weird tests." His jaw set hard again but I wasn't scared of him snapping at me.

"That will never happen again, not if I can help it." It, also, sounded like a promise he couldn't keep. Yet it sounded more than just a promise the way he said it.

A/N

Guess who just saw Captain Marvel!

Guess who now has to rework bits of plot due to new information?!

Yipikaye mofos I'm in this to party and holy mama Brie Larson is SO hot I can't freaking DEAL RIGHT NOW


	7. Chapter 7

Tony was...well he didn't know quite what to make of the kid. She was a mystery, and Tony really liked solving puzzles. The fact that this kid literally fell from the goddamn sky makes her all the more interesting. But other than that she was just  _weird,_  hilarious but weird.

Sometimes the things she said just absolutely should not be coming from a child's mouth, sure she was smart but smart can't be used to just explain away the stuff that honest to God made him suspicious.

He was still trying to logically accept the fact that he caught her while hurdling to the ground thousands of feet up the air. If only because there was no place for her to have from. No planes in the area, private or general airport no nothing. And she sure wasn't very shaken up over it all.

"Tony! Jay keeps trying to help!" He chuckled seeing her pout up at the ceiling even though she knew he was in the house in its entirety.

"Leave her alone Jarvis, we are after all trying to teach her." Sneaking a glance he saw her stick her tongue out facing one of the cameras in the walls that she shouldn't know about. Things like that, that shouldn't even be possible so what the hell?

She was a cute kid, as much as he did his best to avoid them even he could admit this one was cute. Had a very different kind of charisma and charm, it worked on strangers who she played like a fiddle, but to him he felt he could see right through it all...mostly at least. She reminds him of Pepper with her strawberry curls, but her kaleidoscope eyes are almost an ethereal mix of greens blue and gold. Okay so maybe he was a lot more gone on the kid than he was entirely ready to admit, problem is he just couldn't figure out why.

As soon as he got back to Malibu he wholly expected for her to meet him and possibly say something so sarcastic it would be memorable. But nothing, the mansion was empty and held no signs of life. He didn't even hesitate, went straight for her bedroom to see if she was just asleep because if she was gone he was going to  _panic._  And he was Tony Stark, Tony Stark does not panic.

But loathe is he to admit it the feeling of his heart in his throat had no other name seeing the empty made bed.

Panic only turned to righteous fury when he finally learned that it was Obie that took her. She was  _fine_ , didn't need for anyone to step in. Right?

Tony was shaken out of his reverie when Pepper made motions for him to exit the garage.

"Right, kid don't kill yourself. J make sure she doesn't injure herself."

"I'll keep things under control sir." Anika rolled her eyes at it all.

"So much for faith and trust." Tony scoffed while crossing the garage.

"Who is still on pain medication?"

"Against my WILL TONY!" She called up loudly after him not even bothering to look up from the screen.

Tony let his easy going expression fall lax once away from the kid, he needed someone who could get close to the main computer.

"Hey, you busy? You mind if I send you on an errand?" Pepper faltered, clearly having come here for an entirely different purpose. "I need you to go to my office. You're going to hack into the mainframe and you're going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests." He held up the faux USB drive in his fingers, "This is a lock chip. This'll get you in. It's probably under Executive Files. If not, they put it on a ghost drive,  
in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading." She looked absolutely bewildered, ready to slap him up the backside of the head really.

"And what do you plan to do with that information if I bring it back here?" Careful and neutral, testing the waters before committing, how very Pepper.

"Same drill, they've been dealing under the table and I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them." She let out a heavy sigh, looked over at the kid, and turned to face him face hardened.

"Tony, you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if  
you're going to start all of this again."

Tony internally reeled back as if he had been slapped. "There is nothing except this. There's no art opening. There is no benefit. There is nothing to sign. There is the next mission  
and nothing else." Pepper pursed her lips and squared her shoulders.

"Is that so? Well then I quit." Never mind before, now he flinched because this was indeed a slap.

"You stood by my side all these years, while I reaped the benefits of destruction." He took a shaky breath, "And now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harm's way you're going to walk out?"

"You're going to kill yourself Tony," she seemed genuinely upset, "I'm not going to be a part of it."

"I shouldn't be alive, not unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right. You're all I have, too, you know." At that her face crumpled, what?

"And what about Anika? Where is she supposed to be in all of this? Because you have her too now to worry about." Tony was brought back to the violent altercation between him and the kid on the drive back, how it all clearly stemmed from abandonment anxiety. But she would be fine, she deserved better than having to be stuck with him in the long run anyways. His reasoning was he had to figure out where she came from before he let her go.

"If I let these weapons lay where they are she is in just as much danger."

Pepper just shook her head, "That's not what I meant Tony." before turning round and walking out the door. It took him about an hour to figure out she left with the lock chip.

The rest of the afternoon was relatively low key if he was being honest. If you don't count the sudden onset anxiety and restlessness the kid went through after dinner. Tony didn't know what triggered it, she was excited and quite frankly bubbly during their time in the garage/lab absorbing information like a sponge.

But the moment she realized she had to take another pain pill for bed she did everything she feasibly could to not take it. But at the same time she was scared of feeling pain and being unable to catch up on it. Lesser of two evils, eventually she took the pill.

He watched her as she slept, unconsciously he smiled seeing how she snuffled and cooed. Shaking his head Tony went out to the foyer, debating on another cup of coffee. When his phone rang he sat on the couch to answer, Pepper's voice filling his ear at first but soon was replaced with a high pitched whine.

The whine was familiar with a heavy weight in his gut, especially once he immediately couldn't  _move._

"Breathe, easy, easy." if he could move he might just throw up. Obie? "You remember this one right? Such a shame the government didn't approve of its use. So many possibilities for temporary paralysis." He walked out of the room, where was he going?! What was he doing?

Tony's question was soon answered when out of the corner of his eye he could see Obie carrying the limp body of Anika. At first he thought she was still blissfully asleep, until he spotted the very same paralytic blue lines crawling up her neck and face. He used the damn thing on a kid!

"When I ordered the hit on you, I was worried I was killing the golden goose." He couldn't understand, this was Obie! His Obie! "But you see it was just fate you survived that, it appears you had not just one golden egg to give but two!" His adoring gaze was split between Tony's chest and his ward. "Do you really think if you have an idea it belongs to you?" He whispered, it almost teasing. "She is so much like you, I thought she was just any other brat but then I  _saw_ , saw the way she was trying to imitate you."

He took out a heated claw gasp, and Tony if he could give a reaction would have flung himself off the couch, moving to kneel in front of him. "If only you saw how special she really is, she's off the charts just like you Tones! But, after all you're not the best of influences for an impressionable little girl to be around, I'll just have to take her."

Through the paralysis his eyes widened with fear. "Don't you worry! Grandpapa Obi is gonna take real good care of her, I see the headlines now "Obediah Stane Selflessly steps in to Raise Deceased Tony Stark's Long Lost Daughter" has a nice ring to it don't you think? The public won't have to know that any bastard of yours might not be as intelligent as our Darling." He cooed running a finger down her cheek.

Tony was numb, eyes flicking about trying to reason out everything he was hearing. Was she his? How could he have a kid?!

Obie tutted, "And then there is this," he pulled the reactor to where it was only connected to his chest by the cord, "A whole new generation of weapons with this at the heart of it." he grinned viciously as he disconnected the reactor from Tony's chest, his lungs and heart trying to keep him alive without a power source. "I would have liked for you to have seen my prototype, it's not as...conservative as yours. And I do wish you hadn't have involved Pepper, I desperately would have wished for her to live." he finishes ruefully while pocketing the reactor and scooping up Anika. "At least she got your brains and her mother's looks."

And with that he was gone, taking his life straight out the door leaving him empty and slowly suffocating on the floor. Ball was in his court now.

A/N

Surprise! One in Tony's point if view. Betcha didn't expect that one huh? Shhh to those who say you did you are toooootally lying. Anyways loved it? Hated it? Thoughts? Questions comments or concerns? Lemme knowsies


	8. Chapter 8

I will willingly admit to being bad at wanting to wake up. However panic never ever fails to give a proper jolt far more effective than an energy drink. It didn't take a genius to figure out that something was wrong, and I'm not afraid to say that I am a genius in my own right.

Being locked in a car was a new one, the way it's like I'm a dog at least quickly narrowed down  _who_  the hell put me in here. But c'mon Obediah moving me in my sleep?! How creepy can you get?! I refuse, I  _refuse_  for this to become a goddamned trend of me just showing up in unknown secondary locations every time I wake up, nope nuh uh.

Trying to open the door got me nothing, locked because...obviously why would anything be easy for me in this place? So the next logical step was trying to take a headrest off the seat and using the metal doodongle thingamajiggies to slam into the windows. And, no dice. Last I checked I wasn't this weak! What kind of car window doesn't break under this kind of force?

My eyes were pulled to the flood of people sprinting out of the building across the street as if their lives depended on it. Oh shit, going by the explosions they really do. Pepper!

"Pepper! Pepper!" I screamed trying to just get her attention beating my fists against the window. A gigantic metal suit, Obediah's voice booming from it, landed on the hood of the car. It got me, it got me good enough to scream in terror.

"Pepper!" I got shriller the more scared I became, and my hands were hurting from the window. Thankfully she somehow managed to see me frantically beating at the car window, in fact you could see the moment she spotted me. She yelled while grasping at the sleeve of the man closest to her, using her free hand to point frantically in my direction.

She ran surprisingly quickly and tried to pull the door open, like I hadn't tried that already…

"Phil open this door! Let her out right now!" He lifted his hand up and...oh  _no._

I barely had time to slam my hands over my ears before  _POP! POP!_

The glass in the front passenger seat pimpled with spiderweb cracks, not exactly breaking like how it was supposed to.

"Hit the window with the headrest again okay Anika?" Phil Coulson knew my name, huh now normally that would be a massive nerdgasm but at the mo I just had other things to worry about. One thud, two, on the third the window cracked and splintered some more, until the forth finally caused the glass to explode outwards onto the asphalt.

Thank whatever power put me in this skinny body, because crawling out of a window is harder than it looks, especially one that's broken because I can feel the glass cutting into my arms and legs. It was a steady kind of burn that glass cuts can only provide.

Making a show of clutching at Phil as if I was having terror stricken meltdown had me palming his gun, subtle enough that I probably will have only the next thirty seconds to continue getting away with it. He was a shield agent, a damn good one, course he would manage to figure out when his own gun was looted off him.

I bolted.

They both yelled after me with sad attempts of catching the wisp left behind in my wake. I had to get to Tony, I could help him!

Why is this building so tall! Running sucks! Running up stairs sucks worse! The roof door was stuck, requiring some body smashes just to get it open. What's just a little  _more_  pain added onto the plethora I already have?

The noise was blasting, explosions and sparks flying. Tony and Obediah were so busy trying to kill each other there was no way either of them would see me. I'm not even trying to sneak around them!

With a deep decisive breath, I moved into a line where Obediah's front would be dead centre. But then they started to shudder, left hand shaking with a deathgrip around the gun.

It lined up perfectly, now all that was left was to… In, one, things started to slow and move with a sort of blur. Out, his face turned and met mine. In, two, his eyes widened but still he moved slower than time and reality.

Out, three,  _POP!_  Obediah's head knocked back in his version of the iron suit, and time returned to normal. His body fell forwards down through the broken rooftop straight into the waiting original arc reactor below.

Half a second before the blast hit, I realized I was smiling. It wasn't a nice smile, this was a crazed grin of victory and triumph. It was knocked off my face, my body flying back and slamming into the ground.

The air was forced out of my lungs and was stuttering it's way back with a painful wheeze. The ringing in my ears made it impossible to hear anything else that was on the roof, so it was a surprise to see Tony's face loom above mine. He was shouting, least that's what I gathered from the extension of his facial and neck. My blurry vision however, made it so I couldn't even make out what he was saying by reading his lips.

I groaned out, "If I had a neck injury you wouldn't want to be slapping me around like that." he flinches back as if  _I_  was the one who was slapping him. Really?

"What the hell were you doing up here? What is even, how did you?"

"Had to find you," I croaked with a wince, "whoever thought walking away from an explosion was cool is a dirty rotten liar."

He almost chuckled but grimaced instead, "You need medical." Yup, no arguing that one. Calgon take me away for I am  _more_ than ready for the medics to do their magic.

Surprisingly, for the whole "I am Iron Man" spectacle I wasn't even involved. Here I was practically under house arrest while they all got to go to the press release without me! They didn't even give me the option of coming along, leaving me dead asleep in bed to watch everything on tv like the plebs.

Just when I thought they would have been back, nothing. No one came, I was as I always have been completely alone. Was I being melodramatic for being left alone for three days? Maybe a tad bit it's not as if I was actually six.

So sue me when I felt a stupid flood of excitement as soon as Jarvis said Tony was home. As quickly as that excitement came, it managed to leave even faster. Because he wasn't alone.

With him was a woman, average height, she looks like your typical soccer mom who was trying to look professional in a pinstripe suit. No, not now.

"Tony? What's going...on?" My question was paused seeing her holding a file, no.

"This is Kelly Newman," he awkwardly shuffled a bit, "you're going to be going with her." My heartbeat was pounding, roaring in my ears, any less self control and my panic would be shown on my face.

"Why." I knew damn well why I was going with her, but it wasn't the question. I was biting my tongue hard enough that I could just start to taste blood.

"It's better for you if you weren't around me. I'm not the best of influences." I didn't even dignify that with a response, I saw this coming so why the hell did I feel like I was about to throw up? Blank faced, empty eyed, become a shell to cut off their ability to read. If they don't know you're in pain they can't hurt you. "I can have your stuff sent wherever you go."

At that I snapped, "It was never mine," with the coldest tone I could muster. There was no expression of betrayal, not when you don't let them in to see what they've done.

The social worker tried to place a hand on my shoulder which I harshly removed so as she doesn't try to again, "Come on sweetheart, we have to get ahead of the traffic." Maybe I am clairvoyant after all…

A/N

Sooooo I'm back? I dunno how good this chapter is since I'm trying to get things chugging like a college frat party and the line is clogged. Baby steps baby steps


	9. Chapter 9

Even though I was in her backseat for a half an hour or so we just went into what looks like the suburbs of Malibu. The boring part, the one where all the houses and yards looked as if someone used a cloning device. Exactly the kind of neighborhood I hate, or maybe that's just my inner farm brat coming out.

The entire drive I stared dead eyed out the window, what the hell am I going to do now? How do I lay low in a way that won't get me noticed but I can continue to protect myself?

I don't want to go in there, sealing the fate if you will. Unfortunately that wasn't a choice I exactly had. The hairs all up my neck and head were standing on end as we stood at the doorstep. She's rung the doorbell twice, to which I raised my eyebrow with a most unimpressed air, the awkwardness oozing off her was unreal.

A slam against the window next to the door showed the crazed expression of a woman behind the glass. I'm not ashamed to admit that it got me, got me enough to jump with a scream. The window shattered with a ear splitting crack...that was weird.

"Oh goodness gracious!" the soccer mom rip off slapped a hand to her heart. And as if by magic I can already tell how this is going to go.

The front door opened showing a rat-like man with a receding hairline, and his mousey haired trembling wife tucked under his arm. They just look...bizarre. Sad yes, but still bizarre there is no sugar coating this one even if I wanted to be nice.

The social worker placed her hand firmly on the spot of my back just below my neck. In her haste to get me inside she forgot that one doesn't touch, not if I don't want it. She yelped when my hand flew back and crushed her wrist specifically to make her ulna and radius grind against each other. Without looking back I released her, starting to map out this enemy territory.

I pretended to ignore them as I silently made my way quickly yet efficiently through each room gathering both supplies and intel. The kitchen has got to be the most valuable room as far as anything. A knife for starters, and food...ish. Oh dear mother of god.

No wonder the wife was rail thin, no meat on her bones. This wasn't real food, the cook books were all the weird stuff that hippies ate like wheatgrass. The most normal food here are the "Organic Multigrain Crackers" which I looted and tucked into the waistline of my pants. It's an old movie theatre trick I learned years ago, perfected to where I could smuggle about ten boxes and even some bags on top of that of candy into a theatre if I didn't have a purse or backpack. The knife took up some room, I didn't have the luxury of a sheath or holder to make it so I don't accidentally cut myself like an idiot.

Shit, I was out of time. I wandered back into the living room seeing the Social Worker close a file suddenly, leading the three of them to stand in unison. Well that was creepy.

"There she is!" the wife shrilly said with her teeth bared in the most painful looking smile I've ever seen on a human being, "I'm sure she'll be real happy here, right David?" Never mind that was far creepier all in the span of ten seconds. Yeah, nope I want out. I tap out of this nonsense.

But I'm not going to be made out to look like the crazy one, just a little bit of prodding and they will do it all for me. Just you wait and see.

I.F.

Few simple rules in this joint: one never open your trap because when one is out of sight they're out of mind, two never eat or drink anything they put in front of you. That was just asking to be poisoned with your hands out for the bottle.

The bedroom they prepared for me is as plain as them with no decorations to speak of and only a twin bed with a matching dresser and desk combo. The desk came with a chair which now is in it's new home being propped under the doorknob.

While I did it so they wouldn't be able to barge right on in while I was sleeping that's not exactly what I was doing. I was much too wired to relax enough to get any shut eye. Well...enough to function and get by but even then barely that.

I said it before but reiteration is key for this one they were just weird. Their idea of having a good time was a jigsaw puzzle on the coffee table while they watched an extremely dull soap opera. They were desperate for the veneer of normalcy, the idea of the All-American-Family-of-Three. Father proud to display his doting wife and beautiful daughter, Mother acting as your typical housewife...nuff said there. And then the child, one that followed every rule and behaved like the perfect angel any parent could ever dream of having.

Unfortunately for these two foster parent virgins they are in for a very rude awakening for other foster kids worse off than I am. I'm an adult pretending to belong in this body at least I have the prowess to get away with the bullshit I do round here...sorta…

I.F.

They didn't last a week before calling the worker in to take me back. As I predicted they did not enjoy the no talking thing, though I'm more begrudgingly bemused about it all than annoyed. After all I  _did_  kind of ask for all of the drama of being rejected and moved to another place. I'm probably more of a stubborn asshole than Steve could ever dream of achieving, which is damn impressive.

The Social Worker just gave me an expression of exhausted defeat. Sitting once again in her backseat I just kinda gave her one of tight lipped determination. My sheer gumption alone will be enough to muscle through every being that stands in my way.

Is this how the foster system works? Just immediately bounced to a new place once the other stops working? When the hell did they manage to make these preparations like processing transfers? So many questions for so many legalities that simply I don't understand.

And...if I thought the last place was weird boy did I sure have another thing coming. Though not quite what I expected at least; the hyper controlling foster mom I knew was coming one day, but these folks were clearly from 'other' stock. The home felt stale, not lived in and just eerily sterile. The pictures were just as devoid of life, what the, are these edited in goddamn photoshop?

This new couple had the same amount of chemistry as a well worn steel wool that is just burnt out. No spark whatsoever. There was something just  _wrong_  here, it was a static in the air like the tang on your tongue before a lightning strike.

Something was just damn fishy here, and I was going to get to the bottom of it. So I didn't kick up a fuss when I was once again dumped behind the tires almost squealing against the asphalt as she went. Wow…

Once more unto the breach! The house was clean, too clean. Nothing to prove any backstory no history no nothing. Where were the dings from past uh-ohs moving into the home? Chipped tiles in the kitchen from wear and tear? Build up of mineral on the faucets from the tap water? None of these things were here and just making me more anxious as time goes on.

The worst part was they were  _watching_  me, not in the way that I knew at least was a fascination of trying to get to know the new person in your home. They were freaking studying me, observing me.

Sure they mostly acted relatively normal as far as couples went. But they never quite gave off the civvie vibe two bank employees would need for all of this to be believable. They were lythe and toned with muscle, their movements almost as fluid as my own. That alone is more than enough evidence to give me suspicions as to where they REALLY worked.

However, at four am on the second night I found the dirt. I was no stranger to secret hidey holes in homes that at least were used for valuables. This one was damn well hidden too it was only because I knew what I was looking for that I found it at all! The office desk had a false drawer in the middle unlike where one would suspect it in the upper righthand one.

Course they put my file from CPS on top of the false bottom, how in the hell was this supposed to deter me? Now I'm definitely curious to see what they've got on me. Blah blah blah, no known info, blah blah blah jane doe, blah blah- ooh wait those are my test results? Damn! Don't get distracted bloody hell.

Inside the secret cubby was another file, two burners…and two guns. Oh fuckin hell. Well I have maybe a minute before they find out I found this, kill them? Nah not this time it's probably going to be easiest to just run seeing as these two were prooooobably trained. The file I shoved in the seam of my pants and threw my shirt over before charging over to the window. There wasn't a security line connecting the office window to the alarm, don't ask me why. Trap? Probably.

But staying here isn't worth the debating of putting the pros and cons of every choice. Thirty seconds if my math is correct, gotta blast! The lights all started to flick on the further I ran from the house, adrenaline and crazed excitement fuling me more than the lack of sleep and diet of crackers. If my mother could see me now she would be appalled at the state of my sleep cycle and diet…

Into the city I go, hiding in plain sight. Running is easier than facing your problems! Feelings? Who needs them?! Not I no sirie! Yeah…

A/N

Another day, another chapter. Questions? Comments? Concerns? Any of those you know where to find me!


	10. Chapter 10

How in the actual hell have I NOT been caught by the cops yet? Seriously people have tried to call them a few times if I stayed longer than a few hours in any given place. Though by day two the number of calls increased by a most alarming number. Thank the lord above it's summer otherwise I most likely would have been quite screwed elements wise. I may have gotten this far by stumbling along but if I managed to get pneumonia by sleeping outside in the wet and cold my chances plummet down to kaput.

But hey! I managed to literally walk from Malibu to Los Angeles let it not be said my stubborness is anything but fruitless. My legs are just a tad shorter than I'm used to, otherwise I would have made it in about a day over the three it took now.

Right, now would be where I admitted that I have absolutely no clue as to what I was doing. Plan? Don't have one. Not even twelve percent of one. What was I even looking for? I'm so... _lost_. There was this feeling sitting in my gut just telling me that I was looking for something, something really specific, again that what? No idea much to my annoyance.

My stomach was gurgling and twisting, but did you know that's not actually your stomach telling you you're hungry? It's just the sound of your stomach clenching around air. But it still was uncomfortable nonetheless. I know how bad I looked, gotten plenty of double takes in the time I've been out.

The lack of sleep, thank you insomnia, has no doubt added that slight bit of a deranged shine to my eye but hey who says I'm perfect? That first family and probably other but I'm not counting that's for sure.

I'd like to think that with my skill set I was prepared for just about anything-

"Kid?!"

That...that was I was not prepared for. My heart leapt into my throat as I turned frantically seeing him across the street. What was he doing here? No, no no no no! He was starting to cross, very purposely towards me.

I ran, I was a total coward and there was no way in hell I was going to willingly face him. I redact and take back anything and everything I ever said to complain about being small, this literally gave me every advantage of slipping under arms and through legs just to cut through the throngs of people all the more faster than him. How did Tony find me? Why was he here in the first place?

Tony was shouting and making a scene drawing everyone's attention, really?! Stop it!

"Anika! Anika get back here! Get back here right now!" who the hell does he think he is? Right choice made, I glared at him knowing the expression engrained deeply into the lines of my face. He startled which I took to dart down a side street hoping to lose him.

God why are there not enough people?! Where is the lunch crowd?

Charging with stubborn determination, I was caught off guard when a hand tightly hooked around my bicep. First natural reaction? Stare at them with indignation and disgust, how dare whatever peasant this might be touch me! Secondly try to punch them in the gonads.

"Kid! Knock it off already Jesus Christ!"

"Let me go! Get away from me Tony why are you even here?!" My anger was sounding far too close to wet and hysterical for my liking.

"You went missing, what the hell was I supposed to think?" I started to slap at his wrist snarling and twisting.

"How dare you, you threw me away! You got rid of me as if I was garbage you don't have any right!" My voice broke with a croak...I should not be mentally giggling at how that rhymed right at this moment.

His face crumpled like a house of cards under a slightly too strong breeze. "God kid  _no,_  I sent you away  _because_  I cared." He stressed the two words emphatically like he actually believed them. My breaths were spastic and lurching, shaking in a way that was making it impossible to get a proper lungful of air.

"You don't care, nobody ever cares." My vision was blurred and my throat hurt. Tony kneeled now holding onto both my arms at the elbow, even around my cast.

"I do Anika, and I'm sorry. It was one of the worst mistakes I've ever made, and between you and me I've made plenty." he added a half hearted chuckle to the admission. I was biting my lip to keep it from quivering, too choked up to try and say anything else. He sighed, "C'mon kiddo we're going home."

"You're just going to leave me again."

Without much effort he hefted under my armpits and placed a firm hand to the back of my hand. I did notice how he kept the press of my body to the side of his torso away from where the arc reactor settled in his sternum.

"I will never let you go again." The final straw that broke the camel's back, I started to cry really truly cry with my face shoved into the crook of his neck.

"Promise?"

I didn't think he heard me, but with exhaustion lacing his words he said, "I promise." At those words my body felt the sudden sweep of all the lackings it was suffering from, food sleep water and the like. I didn't want to fight it anymore, I wanted to sleep in a bed and have an actual meal.

Tony turned and strode forward not even a stumble to break his stride. He kept the same pace even once people started to call for his attention, phones lifted trying to snap a picture, not slowing or increasing in panic. How does he manage even now to keep showing that bravado of "Fuck you I'm Iron Man" even now after all of this? Where is my pen I need to keep some freaking notes.

A car door opened and he ducked down and inside. "Take us back to base Hap." It almost felt like I was taking so many steps back watching each landmark I passed on foot in the span of days fly by in the midst of only a couple hours. As if all my progress has been up and dumped out the window like a chamber pot back in ye olden times.

Even though everything settled to where I was no longer a dribbling mess my face was still crusty from the dried yuck. "How did you find me?" My real question I was waiting to ask after this one.

"CCTV footage, had Jarvis run facial recognition and narrow down where you were."

"So when did you find out I was gone, today?" Looking personally at myself it's almost as if people would compare me to the main characters of "The Bad Seed" movies; the only problem with that is I actually  _do_  have emotions, almost too many. I was just guarded with them because I've been burned...badly...many times over. Too quick to give out love expecting to receive the same will hurt you quite often before you tend to learn your lesson.

"They called me thinking you had run away and come back to me." I chuckled darkly staring out the window at that.

"Man they really are stupid aren't they?" Should I? "The people I ran from weren't actually foster parents."

His head snapped towards me with an expression of alarmed befuddlement, "Excuse me?"

I rolled my eyes, "Not sex traffickers, no, they were agents."

"And how, pray tell, would you know that?"

Scoffing at his tone I turned to stare him dead in the eye, "The guns and other goodies, though their file on me was sorely lacking." He clearly wasn't expecting that kind of an answer.

"Well they won't have access to you again." his tone was hard and mouth set in a determined line. Whatever you say Tony, whatever you say.

I.F.

The Social Worker was the furthest thing from happy once she realized what had happened. She looked about ready to blow her top once she heard Tony say that I was staying here and that's that. In fact her argument came to a lurching halt when Tony got...hulktastically angry at her threats to have court order take me away. Or wait did that not happen yet? Timelines bah.

"I happen to be the one who found her while your people were running around like chickens with their heads cut off." Tony was far from amused, "And that was only after I find out she's missing two days after the fact because a rookie on your team thought she would have come back here." The best part about open concept homes? You hear  _everything._  I still hate open concept homes but hey I give credit where it's due.

"Mr. Stark contrary to what you might believe you can't just decide you'll take custody-"

"Try. Me." Oh shit, that's his Iron Man voice. "My lawyers will decimate you all to the ground and I'd still have her with me. What's your play?" Thing was I definitely believed him here, and if I did Social Worker lady surely did as well.

"You still have to go through channels, I- I'll send over the paperwork within the week." With that, she hightailed it out as if her pantsuit jacket tails were on fire.

He turned right to face me, "Pancakes or waffles?" as if all of that didn't just happen...aaaaalrighty then. Tony can be weird, but I can work with weird.

A/N

Anyone wanna give a guess as for the two movies I watched that inspired the last couple of chapters? No? Anyways it gave me feelings so I thusly gave you feelings...did it work?


	11. Chapter 11

Obviously the choice was waffles, though only if he followed how I liked them down to the letter. Otherwise the waffles are  _worthless,_  worthless I tell you! Tony thinks my requirements are just bizarre and that I should, "Just eat the damn waffles already." But Tony is just a sadistic  _heathen_ and doesn't know what he's talking about...obviously.

The point I'm trying to make here! This is what most of our arguments are about for the most part, little stupid things because I can and it's amusing. And he always, for some reason, attempts to hold out his end of the argument before just eventually giving in to my way. Sure things weren't exactly smooth sailing; I was insomniatic to the point where Pepper was about to have a stress ulcer from hearing about how little sleep I actually got, said insomnia causing me to be ultra crabby and acting out a lot more like my physical age than mental.

What I didn't expect was having to join Tony in his random various visits to the different areas of Stark Industries. At least the parts that were in Malibu that is. The first time I protested at having to be drug along to SI, really would have rathered staying behind to watch cartoons with my box of cereal. Unfortunately Tony just gave me the "don't make me ask you again" eyebrow lift, which come on! I should not be on the receiving end of that! When I voiced that complaint it took everything I had not to react with childish behavior like sticking my tongue out at his response.

"Well if you're going to whine like a child I'm going to treat you like a child."

"But children don't have to go to boring board meetings at Stark Industries." I grumbled hanging off the back of the sofa. "You're always whining to Pepper about going to these meetings why do I gotta go?"

"Yea, well," he pursed his lips and furrowed his brow, "life's not fair. Now get in the car."

It should almost have been fate that the board wasn't exactly...impressed with me. Then again they are a bunch of crabby old men who have a permanent case of "smell of shit under their nose" expression syndrome. It wasn't like I was actually  _doing_  anything, hell I was behaving amicably! Not blurting out how bored I was or making a nuisance of myself. One man in particular was glaring at me, or no, the chair I was in. Really? The chair?! Does sitting to his right really matter that much where you would give the evil eye to a six year old?...Twenty year old whatever.

Man being ambidextrous could never have come more in handy than with moments like this. Ballpoint pens are still impossible to use but crayons? Those are easy peasy rice n' cheesy.

At least my doodles were funny if only slightly mean how they depicted the way I felt about the board members. Tony found them funny when he actually saw them but I was gracious enough to avoid detection as needed.

"Mr. Stark we must inquire your plans as to what you are going to do with the...child," my gaze flicked up to the one guy who was glaring hardest, felt my ears ah burnin! "The press are having a field day as you are not addressing the current topics at hand, the future direction of the company included." Now I wanted to know what was coming and what would be expected of me, and what better way would be by pretending to not pay attention and in general play the part of a ditz to get all the lovely information nuggets? Shush this is my plan and I'm sticking with it.

"So what? You want me to do another press conference? Smile to the cameras to downplay who she is and why she's here?" I'm a little lost on that one there too man, I wouldn't be too harsh on the vultures for that one in particular. Then again the vultures look like I'm going to have to be the discussion of a conference...all sympathetic feelings lost carry on. The man who had spoken cleared his throat.

"Yes, you understand the protocol for if one is kidnapped?" he said it snidely, purposely cruel and with vindictive pleasure at pointing out how they didn't do shit when Tony was a prisoner of war. What douchebags.

"Indeed I do, quite well if anyone could say so multiple times over." Now I was confused, what is he talking about? Tony glanced at me and shook his head, not by much, only enough for me to notice since I was watching.

I.F.

I was about ready to cry from relief once we escaped the hell that was the boardroom. I couldn't even begin to tell you how my body was just buzzing with energy, bouncing off the walls following Tony as he went to assess his current R and D to see what he wanted to keep and what he wanted to change. And boy oh boy did he need to change things, these people had no imaginations! Where are all the cool stuff?

My face was just a plethora of emotive cues of "boring" and "that's promising". Though following Tony proved to not bring much to the table in regards to entertainment. I timed my escape for when he was ducking under some machine to see the inner workings and slipped through various rooms of junk and people until I actually found someone who wasn't as old as the dinosaurs here.

It was a young man, maybe twenty eight, who shoved something under a desk in a panic when he heard the door open.

"Who are you?" he asked trying to act natural but anxiously peeking to look at what was under the desk.

"Anika, Tony is being boring." I wandered around the room giving appreciative hums at a blueprint badly hidden under one that looked like it was for a rocket. "Oh my god, is this what I think it is?"

He paled, actually paled, seeing what I was pointing it but tried to play it off, "What do you mean?"

What the hell man? "I  _mean_ , you have the prints to make a freaking hoverboard! That's so cool!" I pulled it fully out and started to look everything over.

"Unfortunately it doesn't work." He grumbled under his breath, fiddling with his watch as he spoke.

My eyes got huge, "You've been making a prototype?"

"Well," he walked to the door and glanced out before turning back to see me sitting atop his desk, "I've had to uh, sneak? Making it I mean." He smiled ruefully, "It's not one of my approved projects because it was deemed 'useless and foolhardy' by the board of project approvals."

I nodded gravely, "So you haven't had any of the proper resources to even see if your calculations are correct." That made my brows pinch as I frowned, why was this not approved? Everything seemed like there was enough research and calculations with intelligently drawn up plans to warrant funding so why reject it? "What's your name?" He took in how my legs swung from the ledge of the desk with a raised brow.

"Ian...who did you say you were with again kid?"

Smirking I waved a hand noncommittally, "Not important right now, what is is seeing the hoverboard you shoved behind here and telling me how you'd make it work." That actually made him laugh, full genuine one with a smile that crinkled is eyes.

"Well shit alright kid, you sure got balls on you why not?" His grin soon got as giddy as my own leading to the both of us scrambling to lay out the blueprint and him hauling the board from under the desk.

It was crude, but I could get the idea he was going for. The way to turn it on would be by turning the leading foot from the off position pointing at the end of the board, to the on position pointing perpendicular to the end of the board as if it were a snowboard. Makes sense because it would be a way to close and open the circuit. But he just couldn't get a way to power it all yet.

"So it would have to be relatively safe and not too harsh of a power source otherwise asking for people to be able to control it would be a legal nightmare." Ian was rambling, and even though his forehead had lines from thinking his eyes were alight.

"Well, Iron Man uses repulsors to fly? What if it could be used miniature wise with the board cause it's the same concept?" he looked ready to argue but I held a finger up, "Hold on hear me out! Because he is basically a massive electrical magnet using a variation of plasma driven power. Basically he is adding energy from an arc reactor at an excessive rate to the gases in our environment causing excess electrons to then make a plasma reaction. His reactor causes ionization through the electrical arc and is then accelerated to a high velocity to the outer ring. But even though the power has a great source he is still able to control the outflow instead of overcharging and burning out his system, and managing to create the amount of energy it would take to make a grown man hover in the air." I heaved in a breath, having totally word vomited all over the place like a total and utter geek. Ian was frozen in place, blinking in shock before running to his whiteboard and scrambling for a marker.

He then flipped it while cursing at how it hit his arm in the process before starting to hurriedly scribble out mathematical equations, all the while mumbling under his breath as he went.

"And then if we figure out the physics for the weight and distribution, uh agh! The power couplings...circuitry and uh shit," he paused, "the only problem with all of this is materials and-"

"Pretend anything goes, stop second guessing already dumb dumb." I cut him off and he snickered continuing to write.

"So pretending we have the power all figured out, there is just the matter of how to create acceleration and brakes…"

"Well keeping the front dominant foot level is well enough as being a brake since the position would already be there for a brake since it would have to be just after turning it off."

He pointed the marker at me, "Good point Keekee." He turned back to hot it on a blank spot at the bottom of the board but turned back at my snickering, "What?"

"Keekee?"

He shrugged, "It's a nickname, got a problem with em shortstack?"

"No, it's cool beans eenbean." He rolled his eyes but grinned.

"I'll live with that one, my blood is eighty percent coffee anyways." I giggled loudly up until the door opened and Tony came charging in.

"Where the hell were you?!" I sobered and pointed at the whiteboard.

"We were borting a thing!" If I thought Ian went pale before, now he looked as if he were about to faint...or throw up it seemed to be an internal debate. Tony glanced at the engineer who was about to shit a literal brick, and then took an actual survey of the room.

"Are you guys actually working on a hoverboard? Like from Back to the Future?"

I grinned knowing I now have him with the hook, "Yeah! Ian can't do fun things because the board says no, like a buncha jackwagons." Now Ian was frantically shaking his head. Shoot, no c'mon bro I'm getting you a good gig here!

Tony now was reading over everything with a thoughtful quirk of his brow, much faster than most people could. "You come up with all this?"

Ian shrugged shakily, "Kid helped, um I mean with the process and idea and-" he was stuttering and wringing his hand an anxious repetition.

"Relax, you're not fired." Tony picked up the blueprint along with the piece of paper that had my slightly messy left handed scrawl, "Needs work, and we'll see if you can execute it but you're being moved to the new RnD. One of the few I'm not cutting actually."

"What?" Ian clearly was in out of his depth.

"Think you'll be able to move if I move operations?"

"Um um I mean yeah I guess? Like uh sure uh." He still stammered but was holding himself together more once he realized he wasn't losing his job."

Tony placed everything onto his desk, "Wonderful, scan these and send it to me immediately. Anika let's go." With a strut he briskly departed expecting me to be directly behind him.

However I paused when Ian said, "You never said you're a Stark Keekee," his tone was light with questioning wonder.

I chuckled and said, "Who says I am?"

"If you try to say you're not I'm not inclined to believe you shortstack, now run along before he comes back and actually fires me."

"Bye Eenbean!" I had to jog to catch up with Tony up the hall but was giddy with excitement.

"Tony hold up your legs are longer than mine!" Without skipping a beat he reached an arm down, but whether he meant for me to just hold his hand or not I used it to help launch myself into a swing. He must have meant for it to pick me up because he carried the movement so I landed on his opposite hip.

"Let's see how many other promising engineers you can sniff out." Whooping with glee had us scouring the remaining departments, with me as the mole and Tony coming in for dramatic entrances and exits as needed. But I did make the stipulation that Eenbean had to be in charge of wherever he was put, I dunno I just liked him he was cool.

Mostly I was trying to distract myself from the upcoming press conference that would truly put me under the scrutiny of the public eye. It's not that I wasn't ready for it all, just more I was terrified he was going to see it all as a mistake all over again. THAT was the thing I ultimately couldn't handle. Always said I was a masochist and a glutton for pain.

I wasn't allowed to actually be at the conference, Pepper saying it was "inappropriate" honestly I'm a  _genius_  one would think I'd have more leeway than this. What was more annoying was Tony agreed with her! And made it so Jarvis wouldn't allow for me to see it, hear it, or have any information whatsoever...ugh.

Whatever, Happy got to play babysitter. He was mostly standoffish, not knowing what to say or even do around me. But he seemed to relax once he started playing Gosford Park on the tv. That was one of my all-time favorite movies so we came to a mutual silent agreement that the other was hella cool. Least in my books we did.

A/N

I dreamt a thing, so I had to bort a thing, word vomit commenced. I dunno how much of this actually was valuable plot wise but oh well? I don't want it ALL to be angsty between timeline moments (even though I'm VERY good at angsty whump) so I need to figure out how to actually have interludes of bonding because god I love fluff. I love hearing fluffy ideas if you got em! Thanks for giving my baby a read


	12. Chapter 12

The heat of Summer fell into the crisp coolness of Autumn, and as the press' interest died down so did Tony's cut throat hyper controlling behavior about me being seen outside. I finally got that cast taken off, one could only live with unbearable itching for so long, and now I have this wicked scar on the inside of my arm. Back to the hyper controlling behavior, while I don't have Tony breathing down the back of my neck physically he just found other ways to do so. Like how Pepper would suggest I come with her for the day and be in her office, or how Happy would say he has an errand to run and wants backup. I wasn't stupid I knew what was going on. However I just didn't argue because what the hell else was I supposed to do during the day? It's not like I exactly wanted to do school over again. Plus I was homeschooled the first go around why would I ASK to be put in a place I wasn't supposed to be in the first place? Not if I can help it that's for sure.

If I thought the baby face made it so people didn't take me seriously I should have waited for the inevitability of my teeth falling out. The distinct  _child_  like sound the lisp gave me was just infuriating but not really something I could help seeing as I had no front friggen teeth! Pepper thought it was cute, and Tony when he thought I was whining would start to talk with an exaggerated lisp. Like an asshole.

It was almost amusing seeing how their spaces were just being taken up by...my stuff. It's difficult actually calling it all mine, somewhere in the back of my head I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Pepper's office, Tony's lab, those spots were just littered with things like legos, spare changes of clothes, blankets, it's amazing how it all just happened since I have no idea as to when it did.

So for the most part I had some semblance of a routine, very little in the means of variation or change but it was predictable which I rather enjoyed. I mean my freedom to roam about at my leisure was restricted. Apparently blowing shit up in an empty lab will make people mad at you and only allow you in under strict supervision...who knew?

I got to watch as the Hulk tore apart Harlem on the television since apparently that happened like way  _way_ after Tony doing his Iron Man thing. I'm not going to sugarcoat it no one likes the Hulk movies, they just weren't good and I have no recollection of them other than the details I only knew through fanfiction. God bless the writers who did all the painful research for me! I mean...c'mon anyone who suffers through those movies is the real mvp in my book.

However when my routine broke it thankfully wasn't for another terrorist group or end of the world scenario. Nope just Tony apparently falling short on responsibilities and then scrambling to play catch up.

Let me explain, so he decided to wake me up at the literal ass crack of dawn only after I had just managed to fall asleep. I reiterate, I finally fulfilled the wish of getting some sweet recharge through the night and I only got an hour's worth of it. I was ready to  _kill_  him. He placated the murderous intentions with hot chocolate, surprisingly good tactic it calmed the beast...for now. However me being tired and actually mostly asleep brings out a very different monster, one that cares not if you don't like to be touched especially if you were the one to wake the beast.

That's not to say Tony doesn't touch me, the man has an odd fascination with just carrying and holding me, a way of keeping close, keeping safe. I never commented on it in case it makes him pull away. When he eventually allowed himself to relax fully he was actually an excellent cuddler, especially when I felt extra snuggly. We could pretend that Pepper doesn't have hundreds of "sneakily" caught pictures of it.

Here from the car all the way to the private plane I forced him to deal with my sprawling across his legs like a slightly grumpy cat. Like I was pissed off he woke me up but I wanted him to pet my hair damnit. Give me affection! He wasn't getting the hint, for a genius he sure was a dumb dumb. Finally I reached up and just wrenched his hand away from under his chin to land in my hair, best to just go for it really. He froze for a second before chuckling lightly under his breath.

"Something you want kiddo?" I grumbled shoving my face into his thigh. "I don't speak 'wuh wuh wuh' kid."

"Shut up n' pet my head." Of course he would be the kind of dick to actually laugh at that, but he did as he was told.

"Most people wouldn't accept that kind of snark." And yet here we are.

"Most people don't have an AI that does it more than me." I smiled slightly hearing the quietest laugh from Jarvis in the plane. I talk to Jarvis all the time, he was wonderful to banter with.

"Touché," I slipped back to dozing, and unfortunately missed the actual  _landing_  bit as well as majority of the car trip after. Sleeping should be collected when one can seeing as in my case it is a rare energy source.

"Tony where are we going?" I whined the last word drawing it out. I would have flopped around but instead kept my face tucked into his neck where he smelled like his cologne and motor oil, plus something that just could only be described as metal mixed with electricity. It was almost too difficult to describe but so completely Tony that it couldn't be anything else. We always got interesting looks from passers by whenever they see me upon his hip or like now as I kowala-babied with my legs crossed around his waist. Of course he always kept up the "Fuck you I'm Iron Man" strut, but somehow he always managed to still pull it off with me alongside him.

"You'll find out." he almost sounded...distracted?

"Why can't you just tell me? I don't like surprises Tony."

"Yeah well I don't like the whining, looks like neither of us win."

I grinned, "Shut the hell up you love me." A sharp flick landed on my side making me yelp indignantly.

"It's rude to talk to people like that." I snickered, "Yes?"

"I notice you didn't deny it." That shouldn't make me so happy hearing him grunt in response but it was the kind where I knew he was smiling behind it. You could just hear it.

That's when I paused, "Wait what STATE are we even in?"

"We're in D.C." At that I leaned back to give him an incredulous expression.

"What the fuck why? You  _never_  go to D.C. Pepper does."

"Hey what did I  _just_  say?" I rose an unimpressed brow mouth set in stone.

"Like your language is any better."

"Do as I say not as I do."

"In what universe is that a logical argument." It was more of a rhetorical question because the answer is obviously none.

"This one because I'm in charge and I said so." I let out a huff pouting before looking around. An old folks home? "Yup, an old folks home." Huh, must have said my thought aloud...that's a rookie mistake.

"I have, SO many questions." I had to pause in my remark, because the place was eerily familiar like I really  _should_  know it.

"Anthony! Took you long enough why haven't you come to visit?" My hair whipped me cross the face from wrenching my upper body around to see who just spoke. Because if the building wasn't familiar that  _voice_  sure as hell was. I knew her damn well right away.

"Sorry Aunt Peggy," Tony said sheepishly before sitting in the chair next to her bed, "things have just been...a bit busy." Yeah you decided to take in a kid for some god forsaken reason. Her gaze landed on me and a mixed set of emotions flitted across her face: astonishment which made a lot of sense, warmth slightly less but she had kids so I can cue it to maternal instinct, and then there was pain almost like mourning. That last one alarming but not as much as the recognition, because she looked at me with familiarity much to my utter confusion.

"Who is this Anthony?" I don't believe for a second you don't know.

"Aunt Peggy this is Anika, I'm fostering her due to some interesting circumstances."

"Sure if that's what you want to call it, way to be an information tease." Foot, meet mouth. Why am I like this? But Peggy laughed, if a little weakly from her ailing body.

"Oh duckie, I see far more than you would ever hope for me to miss." Then she turned her head to me as Tony set me down to sit next to her legs on the bed. "How old are you darling?"

"Six," I think? "I turn seven on December thirty first." Hopefully that sounded the way I wanted it to, "s" sounds were hard as all hell at the moment.

"You didn't tell me that before." Tony pouted from his chair.

"You never asked Tony."

"Aren't kids supposed to be all, super eager to tell you when their birthday is?" This he asked Peggy with a raised brow.

"Somehow darling this one seems different." Tony blew air out between his pursed lips.

"You have NO idea,"

"Hey what is that supposed to mean!" Peggy started to laugh again but it was slightly tinged with sadness.

"God, you remind me so much of him. I never understood, probably never will."

"Aunt Peggy?" Tony cast a worried glance at her medicine bottles. She shook her head and smiled.

"Nothing you should worry about duckie, you just be sure you actually call especially now that you've  _finally_  gotten me a grandbaby." She said this teasingly but with enough seriousness that I could tell there was threat underlying the lightheartedness of it all. However my brows were trying to take flight off my face, grandbaby? Also how old even is Tony? That is something I don't think I actually know.

"You know Sarah has literally given you three…" he grumbled, "and William two."

"Hey you're whining you ain't got no leg ta stand on!" I  _loved_  catching him in the act because then I really just act out for shits and giggles. I'm...not so great with authority figures.

"Is that really how you're going to articulate your sentences?" He knew just how articulate I was, funny thing was he also got to hear each and every one of my accents.

"Not my faul' I grew up roun' mah cousins ooh all shpoke like this cause they was all from Minnesoda." With growing up round a variety of people I have a plethora of accents to choose from to speak in, for it's true I do have family in Minnesota and my god they DO sound like that. That's not even me making it more pronounced for humor's sake or anything. I can just slip into any of these slick as a whip you just see.

Tony groaned, "Why the Minnesotan accent kid? Can't you stick with the Russian or hell the British one?"

"Alrigh, I mean not too sure as to how is much better." My "British" accent was pretty conclusively Northern nowhere close to as posh or cool sounding as Peggy's.

"I can already tell what your day to day is like darling." Peggy smirked at Tony well knowing.

"Oh I'm not with Tony all day, loads of times I'm with Pepper, or Happy, Rhody took me to visit where he works I got to be in a fighter plane."

"Anthony," He raised his hands in a placating manner.

"Not like that I swear! Just when the lab has...dangerous stuff. She already almost made the building explode because she was  _bored_." His tone hardened and I felt the glare at the side of my head. I sheepishly grinned, mostly because of just how much trouble I was in for that one. Never living that one down.

The rest of the visit basically contained Peggy insisting I call her something other than Peggy (I chose Granny because my paternal grandmother can go eat a dick) and Tony trying to embarrass the hell out of me while avoiding Peggy flawlessly telling every amusing story she had on him.

"Do you have a bear?" She asked this when she found out about the insomnia.

"No, I used to but it was my Momma's. It smelled like her." I trailed off after that and the topic wasn't actually approached again. The only reason I bring it up, is due to the old and ever so slightly worn but well loved pair of bears on my bed once I was settling in for the night. "Bucky Bear, and Captain AmeriBear", Pepper was wrong, that busted first miniature arc reactor wasn't proof Tony had a heart. I get to see it in him with every small thing he does. So giggling with glee I tucked in snuggling with the bears, and fell asleep with the smell of Tony long imbedded into the bears wafting up into my nose.

A/N

I planned for this, and here it came. Peggy, my true love oh how I love thee. Anika is smart, but like Tony is at the same time totally oblivious with things that will smack into her reality later. Questions? Comments? Concerns? Lay em on me! Chao!


	13. Chapter 13

Turns out? Travelling cross dimensions doesn't take away your lactose intolerance problems. Found that one out that one the hard way. Any of you who have this little...problem...will know  _exactly_ as to what I'm talking about. Only person who was with me at the time of figuring said thing out, was Rhody. How he got shuffled into babysitting duty, I'm actually not too sure. You'd think being the liaison between Stark Industries and the US Government he would have a lot more on his plate to take care of. But instead here we were, just after an outing going to an ice cream parlour on the beach. The building was one of the only ones along the beach with a bathroom, no porta potties for me thank you very much damn that. Those things are the settings of plenty of my nightmares mostly due to just how disgusting they are.

Rhody wasn't exactly expecting me to be stuck in one of the bathrooms for the last twenty minutes though, judging by him now currently knocking at the door totally interrupting something that should be  _private_.

"Anika? Are you alright in there?" I huffed a breath causing a stray curl to fly up from my face.

"Just. Peachy." There was a pause on the other end.

"You sure?" I snickered and twirled my thumbs.

"My gut feels as if I have barbed wire running through it and my intestines on  _fire_ , Rhody." The noise he made at the sudden excess of information was amusing.

"Do I need to call your-" he faltered for a second, "Tony?" I glanced around confused, my what now?

"What for? Does he have a magic cure all for my intestines opening the floodgates?"

Rhody laughed uncomfortably, "No I can't imagine he would, but-"

"Rhody I'll be fine, just give me a minute please." I felt a little bad for cutting him off but this was mortifying I just wished to wallow here in peace.

By the time I was able to show my face again Rhody was trying to hide his anxiety behind a teasing grin, though who knows that could be just as genuine at the moment, "Feeling better?" I didn't dignify that with a response, only deciding to glare peevishly before sipping at my water.

I wasn't actually mad at him, having seen Tony in all of his glory with his all nighters in the lab I'm sure Rhody has seen everything and then some thus leaving him to a normal reaction of teasing. Makes me wonder what Tony at fourteen was like…probably even more self destructive as he is now sadly.

"Has Tony decided what school he is going to put you into?"

I laughed, "School? I don't need to go to school Rhody." He raised an unimpressed brow as if I were full of shit, well figuratively over literally.

"Yes you do, you need to socialize and learn."

"I have Jarvis he's a better teacher than anyone, and besides what makes you think I really have more to learn in regards to the "normal" curriculum? I know he's shown you my test results."

"You know about that?" He seemed surprised.

"Obviously, c'mon Rhody who do you take me for?"

He mumbled something under his breath while rolling his eyes in exasperation. But at the same time his gaze was fond. "You're a pretty great kid Anika, don't let anyone tell you otherwise." If that was what got me to easily hold his hand on the way to the car skipping as I went, well, he most certainly never voiced the thought aloud.

I.F.

"Happy! Chin up the way you're acting one would think you didn't actually like spending time with me!" He kept up the act of having a deep scowl ingrained upon his features as he drove, but I now knew him well enough to know his real scowl from this one. "Besides, it's just Christmas shopping not as if I'm torturing you."

That was what made him guffaw, "Oh yes, because being among the masses in an uncontrolled environment is exactly my idea of a good time." His sarcasm game was almost as good as my own.

"Ha! You never said it was me that you disliked out of this! Always knew you loved me!" Leaning forward cross the divider of the car I smooched the side of his head, giggling hysterically when he rubbed at the spot while rolling his eyes.

"Alright brat that's enough, sit down and buckle up." He let a teensie weensie slip of a smile come through, "You're making me nervous."

Settling back into my seat was more to appease him even though we were pulling into the parking lot of the mall. I was gracious enough to pretend that this wasn't Happy quite literally now being my bodyguard when out in public. He is literally always around, though if I was with, say Rhody, he would be waiting in the car or somewhere else nearby. Christmas was nearing, about three weeks away if I have my dates right.

Course how I'm going to pay for all this was going to be real easy, Tony has decided real early on that I "needed" to have an allowance. I objected but, as per usual, I was unheard. Though my protests weren't unfounded when I found out just how much he was actually funnelling into that god damn account. I'm still annoyed but have decided to shut up and accept it so I could get them all presents.

Truthfully Happy wasn't the... _worst_  shopping partner? Sure he glared at anyone who came within twenty five feet of us, openly barking at them to back off if it was ten feet. But he didn't actually complain about the process or having to carry the bags due to them being almost half my size. However, he was just about as smothering as Tony. I have a lot of patience, but NOT when it comes to me having to use the restroom.

"Happy, you are not following me into the toilet!" I was exasperated, because how was this even an argument?

"It is a security risk, no cameras for me to check in on you." I felt my face set in stone.

"Uh, yeah, I sure hope there wouldn't be."

"Kid,"

"Nope! And you aren't hovering outside of the door because that is weird. I will be right back."

He huffed and started to glare at the various shoppers, mostly the ones heading towards the toilet like myself. My business was quick, as promised, though I was taking the necessary time to well and properly wash my hands (it's not the toilets that are the most disgusting thing in a public bathroom, it's the door handles just as an fyi...you're welcome). There weren't all that many people in here, but one was a lady who was rooting around in her purse next to me. The logical conclusion was she was looking for her lipstick or the like, but something was making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

As I reached for the paper towels she lunged, hand twisting into my hair before plunging a needle into where my neck and shoulder met. Immediately everything was disorienting and swimming, completely out of focus. What? What the? Who?

I got to watch as she lugged my lax form into the handicapped stall and locked the door. God I couldn't fight back with any of this-wait what are you doing?! Faster than feasibly possible, or maybe it's the tranque, she stripped me of the clothing I was currently wearing. Though it wasn't for that horrible reason, turns out it was to put an other outfit on me entirely which...okay but this isn't top runway. The final thing she did was shove my hair under a beanie and heaving my basically unconcious form up into her arms.

As she passes Happy she made sure my face was turned in towards her neck, and it only took me another friggen ten minutes to realize what the quick change was about. Happy didn't recognize me.

Finally on the floor of her car the last leg of the drug kicked in and the world just slipped away.

A/N

So! You SHOULD READ THIS SO NOTICE IT….now that I have your attention just a warning the next chapter will have violence in it. There will be another warning in the begining of the next but here we are. If you don't want to read it specifically then there WILL be a TLDR at the very end in the author's note so you can get a general idea of what happens because it's going to be a doozy and have lots of things that add to plot in a sense soooooo the more you know. See ya next time!


	14. Chapter 14

ALRIGHT so warning again, violence in this chapter so here is your secondary warning if you don't wish to have the nitty gritty details. There will be a tldr version of events at the end for those that want the basics for future events. Just look for the line of ******** Author out.

I was awake, but kept my eyes shut and body limp to fein still not being conscious. Least that was the plan had they not been sitting and watching me I guess. Because no sane human being can just sit there with no reaction when someone strikes you in the face. It was sharp, created a loud cracking noise, and made me shriek out in pain.

Shaking my head while blinking the stars away cleared the image of the room around me.

A spare bedroom where someone has been kipping out for at least a while. I mean going by the suitcase that smells distinctly of beer and dirty laundry...gross. Three people, all wearing cheap Wal-Mart masks, one was sat in front of me while the other two almost awkwardly mingled behind him. Wait scratch that, four people, the last was fiddling with various items on the table to the left of the room.

Well, isn't this just charming? Heaving a heavy sigh I stretched my jaw around with a pissy expression.

"I'm guessing you haven't left a note?" A glance down at my hands had me internally rolling my eyes, handcuffs what complete and utter morons.

"Be quiet, you so much as let out a sound and we start sending Tony Stark some fingers." The delivery was weak enough that I didn't truly believe he would be the one to do it, but still I clenched my jaw to keep silent. I can't believe I managed to get myself kidnapped, not even five minutes after throwing my own temper tantrum to try and prove Happy wrong! I severely dislike being wrong, in fact I strive to make sure I am right in any and all scenarios.

Already I was compartmentalizing away facts in an attempt to formulate a plan to, you know, get the hell out of here. In this very moment I am severely outnumbered and outgunned. The waiting game it is, people always tell me what I need to know in more ways than one.

The fact that they had masks to begin with showed that they didn't plan on killing me (...oh the horror? Question mark? eh…) but they also clearly did not understand that there literally was a process to this. Stark Industries had to receive a definite proof of life, that was then voted as undeniable by the board, THEN had to go through another vote by the board where it had to be a unanimous call for any ransom money to go through. Biggest problem with that plan? The board absolutely disliked me on a rather personal level. Still no real clear idea as to why, not with those knuckleheads.

The woman, clearly feeling as if she has done more than her fair share, decided to leave the now awkward silence and literally go take a god damn nap. I'm not even kidding I could hear the bed springs creak through the wall to my right as she settled down right to sleep. Man apparently kidnapping someone must be just exhausting the  _poor_  lamb.

The other three dudes basically used her as a cue and soon filtered out after her, and just as I predicted their footsteps mapped out the layout of the building amazingly. A flush, a microwave ding, the creaks of the staircase, all little sounds that added up into one much bigger picture. Town house, has to be, nothing else is about the size of an apartment and also had a stairwell.

So...the true question to pose. How exactly am I going to get out of here, or in the terms of the nitty gritty, just what are the parameters of how far I am willing to take things? Who the hell am I kidding? I mean...it's not as if I haven't killed before right?

I felt my lips start to spread into that predatory grin, heartbeat starting to kick up surging up with dare I say excitement. One shaking breath in, one out, and I was ready. Hands lifted up to my hair where bobby pins pulled away the wild hairs that never actually got pulled into my braid and easily dislodged one. Those tricks about using a bobby pin came from somewhere, just not the way people think since you weren't actually supposed to jimmy the actual locking mechanism. Nope, ignore that it ain't your friend here. The part where the teeth close everything tighter that is what you should focus on, if you stick the straight end of the pin against the teeth along the band then you can bypass the teeth's function. Course things will get a bit tighter before they get better but hey following those directions you've successfully gotten yourself out of a pair of cuffs!

With the alarming amount of practice I have with getting out of these stupid things it was pretty instantaneous as well as silent. Now, what kind of goodies do these losers ha- you have got to be kidding me. These guns are fake! And their knives are so dull butter knives are somehow sharper. Beggars can't be choosers, but STILL! This is almost insulting...or a challenge, that makes me feel better. We'll go with that, you should just agree with me here I am the one holding the fake gun.

Walking out of the room with silent feet had me entering the other bedroom, gazing upon the slumbering form of the woman who took me. It was weird, that little niggling furl of anger that I felt in the pit of my stomach seeing her there as if holding a child hostage wasn't enough to warrant her being awake. My hand itched fiercely holding one of the sharper knives I stole, in fact my entire being was  _thrumming_  with a sudden burning...something.

' _You know you have to do it,'_  do...what? ' _You really think you're going to get out of this without a fight? Not if they are after Dad's money.'_  Okay yes I know they are after money, which automatically makes them all the more dangerous because this is a profit, but seriously inner voice? How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling Tony 'Dad'?

Anyway, swallowing down any potential guilt made it easy to silence her snores. In the permanent way if you catch my drift.

The hall was dark, saving the power bill? Either way it wasn't a problem, not really. I paused at the landing hearing voices below.

"Any word from Stark?" There was a harsh sigh through someone's nose.

"No, dumbass, we still haven't given proof of life." Well...glad to know I was only kidnapped by the best of the best. Man this was embarrassing. "Speaking of, Kyle why are you not watching the brat?" Excuse me? Glancing round for a place to hide only brought be up.

"It's a fucking kid Ted where the hell is she going to go?" Shit, shoving the handle of the knife into my mouth I straddled the wall and spider crawled upwards into the shadows. Once cloaked in darkness I slipped the knife out of my mouth into my palm waiting for-

"Get your ass back up there before you don't get jack squat of the payout!" 'Ted' sure got a temper on him don he! Feeling that feral grin split across my face again soon found a  _real_  portly man starting to lumber up the stairs laboriously. He is so out of shape that this really was just a favor to him at this point.

Three, and two, and one, releasing the wall had me dropping into a crouch on his shoulders, slamming the knife with such excessive force into his throat that the blade broke through the vertebrae. Unfortunately that also means it's stuck, requiring a flip forwards to build up enough momentum to dislodge it. I am still a shrimpy six year old there is no way I could ever be strong enough to catch a fully grown human male, so I got to watch in annoyance as his body flopped backwards in a dead weight (that was far funnier than it should be) down each step.

"Kyle?! Dude what the hell man?" Oh that's just great. He had ran to the steps but stuttered to a halt at the scene that lay before him, obviously more than shocked. However his face hardened with determination, alrighty then bambino fine by me. Let's dance.

He sprinted up towards me, but I met him halfway down with a battle cry fierce as can be. With a running start I took a flying leap that had me landing with my legs around his throat. Inwardly I knew the jist of what needed to be done to proper execute it all, but c'mon this is way harder than it looks! Sure I already had the direction of motion, the power, and the gumption. However the finesse and the grace of execution seriously have got to be worked on this was far from polished.

Basically I threw myself wildly down his back under the sheer hope he would land there I needed him to go. Course to disentangle myself from the idiot I had to do some  _incredible_  feats of gymnastics involving a fancy flip that needed a twist from my body. The downside? This, like I have mentioned, was a staircase flips mean that you won't land on a flat surface. It is only through dumb luck I didn't break my ankle, the pain of my ankle giving out against the step sure felt awful enough for me to want to call it so, but really this was a sprain.

Again, sheer dumb luck, I managed to not stab myself like a complete and utter moron during the entire debectacle, instead using the fury to slam it deep into the dude's eye socket….I will readily admit that I let my anger get ahold of me in the moment, seeing as it made me twist the thing with a furious sneer.

I didn't notice the final foe until I was in pretty significant danger. Managing to sneak up behind me he pinned with his entire form, hands clasped tight around my throat. Panic, this was the body's response to not getting enough air. Oxygen makes the world go round after all. Said panic made rational choices fly out the window, fists raised to try and beat him off and legs flailing with wild abandon.

"Those were my friends!" he howled, "We weren't even going to hurt you! We just wanted money, why?! WHY!?" Spittle was flying into my face as he squeezed even harder with each sentence he screamed. My throat was starting to make that very scary clicking noise, and my limbs were heavy all noodle-like.

Just when my vision was starting to become speckled with grey and black around the edges everything exploded with red. The sound hit me seconds later but nothing was quite like how the mountainous weight of him sprawled upon me. Course the whole...being soaked thing was a problem too but I'm compartmentalizing. Now any weight falling upon you isn't going to be pleasant, but the entirety of a two hundred and fifty pound man falling upon your ribs sucks balls.

Hands pushed in a futile attempt to deadlift the body off, and I felt my teeth scrape together as I gritted out of yell of indignant fury. This was until a man entered my field of vision, causing me to freeze in well deserved panic. It was the Winter Soldier, absolutely no doubt about it unless I was suffering from hallucinations via oxygen deprivation...that is always a possibility.

That internal theory was killed off as he removed the body as if he were lighter than a pillow. That's just not fair I guess I don't even lift bro.

I have NO idea what the hell I was even supposed to say in this scenario. Truth be told this was just awkward, maybe more on my end than his. So we were just standing facing each other silently as if just waiting for the other to break it. He didn't have his mask on, so I could see the small twitches in his face the longer he stayed fixated on my face. It was if he was trying to stare as forcefully as he could, like someone staring at a math problem they learned the concept for long before.

Slowly, so so slowly, he knelt to the floor staining the knees of his tac pants before me. His right hand tentatively reaching out to touch my soaked curls that were now more scarlet than strawberry. There was something in his eyes, a sense of deja vu?

I don't know why, it inwardly felt like a really dumb idea, but just as unsure I placed my hands on either side of his jaw feeling the scruff scratch at my fingertips. Even knelt on the ground I had to ever so slightly lean my head back to look into his eyes. Right before my eyes I could see them shifting and lighting up which was odd to say the least.

"Почему я тебя знаю?" (Why do I know you?) He whispered it gruffly gaze traveling up and down my person as if wanting to keep the memory ingrained into the deepest part of himself.

"Я не знаю, но я знаю тебя." (I don't know, but I know you.) This was the truth after all. His expression shifted before decisively lifting me up as if I were a feather.

"Положи меня." (Put me down.) I was too tired to be as firm as needed for him to listen, and my eyes just about popped out of my head when he glanced at me with challenge.

"Вы ранены, я ношу вас." (You are injured, I am carrying you.) The stubborn part of myself  _desperately_  wished to argue further, but conceded once the pain in my ankle flared smartly. It was with grievous air, but I nodded having him take me out of the scene of destruction.

It was awe inspiring seeing his skill in avoiding people and their keen eye for noticing "off" things. It was effortless, fascinating, and I for sure had skill envy.

"Куда вы меня везете?" (Where are you taking me?) It only just occurred to me that I should ask this. He faltered for a second before looking unsure. "Отведи меня домой, Тони ждет меня." (Take me home, Tony is waiting for me.) Deciding to take the initiative for the destination seemed to be the wisest idea at the moment. "Ты пойдешь со мной, останься." (You come with me, stay) There was no room for argument, especially because once my feet were planted in the ground I say "No  _you_  move."

He never responded, but he didn't say no either. I'm counting it as a win.

I.F.

It look less than an hour to reach the Malibu mansion, the entirety of which I was using to try and rationalize all the thoughts whipping about through my brain. None of it was actually going by in any logical sense, in fact the more I tried to sort everything out the more jumbled it all became. Why does a timeline have to be so complicated?!

The best way I can rationalize out the Soldier being there was I have gotten onto Hydra's raydar as well...awesome so we can now identify which side those agents I was placed with were with. But I can't really do anything, no powers, no nothing. No one yet knows of my knowledge of the (hopefully preventable) future so it can't be that.

But that also doesn't explain why he was taking me back to Tony, or how he is ever so slightly broken from his conditioning. He made it seem as if he recognized me, me and not someone else. God my head hurts...scratch that my everything hurts.

The thing that broke me from my reverie was Tony sprinting out of the building with one of the Iron Man arms wrapped around his own.

"Tony!" Wisely the Soldier let me down so I could limp/throw myself into Tony's arms. Once there I melted and just clutched at his shirt feeling his breaths hitch alongside my own. He pressed his free arm around my back so tightly that the arc reactor was almost making an imprint into my own sternum.

Tony was rambling breathlessly, to where I couldn't even understand what he was saying. Oh...is that Italian? No wonder it made hardly any sense. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the Soldier start to internally question what he was doing still being here, and getting ready to bolt.

"Останься, пожалуйста." (Stay, please.) He froze, but otherwise did as requested. Here was where Tony switched to English.

"God, don't you ever  _ever_  do this to me again, I can't take it not with this heart." The waterworks started up again in full.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Tony I'm sor-ry!" I was no doubt ruining his shirt but I just needed to be held.

Tony sighed, "It's okay, I've got you kiddo…" He paused and stood while putting himself between me and the Soldier, "Though it looks like we certainly have a lot to talk about. How do you manage to make things so complicated all the time?" The way he said it was with tired acceptance at least didn't make me too worried for the 'things to talk about'.

A/N

Right so, as you know Anika got kidnapped, the group consisted of one woman and three men. Anika used the power of incredible wit and skill to escape her bonds, but then in the attempts of escape killed three of the kidnappers before getting attacked by the fourth. Who was then taken out by a surprise appearance of the Winter Soldier. Which hello! Timelines? I don't know her. He then takes her back to Tony, tearful reunion commences, and for now the Soldier is still on the grounds of the Malibu mansion.

Now, how awful was my Russian? I had to use google translate (I know the HORROR) because while I can understand a surprising amount listening (and a smidge reading) I absolutely cannot spell it to save my life, and grammar is a thing I do not know...yet. Any Russian speakers reading who would be inclined to do so could you shoot me a message with corrections/tips? So...I saw End Game and I was wrecked to the point where I was Toby Maguire ugly crying for basically 4 hours in total. So knowing plenty feel the same here is this chapter somewhat early! I still can't believe this is getting as many reads as it is, so truly I thank you all for reading. Til the next time.


	15. Chapter 15

Tony would never outwardly say this, and would deny it until the day he died, but he is the most clingy mother trumper ever. Especially because now I have quite the impressive shadow. The Winter Soldier did indeed stay as per my request, much to Tony's displeasure. What he will admit to is just how territorial is. Which holy mother of god the SMOTHERING!

If the Soldier got so much as "too close" in Tony's opinion then he would literally march over, lug me up like a sack of flour, and leave to go elsewhere trying to ignore how the Soldier would just follow us. I've never actually seen him sleep, especially since he sees it as his post to be sitting and watching as I slept. Needless to say...that did not fly so well. The moment he caught wind of it (the first night) I wasn't sleeping in my bed. Nope Tony has doth decreed that I would be with him because he could make it so no "creepy Terminator knock off watches my kid as she sleeps". Pepper could scarcely believe it, if only because he was actually starting to get more normal hours of sleep each night. Kind of had to to make sure I was there. The other added benefit was that, weirdly enough, it was finally easier to sleep myself. The hours of insomnia and nightmares were severely cut which...wow. Is this what being  _rested_  felt like? What a foreign concept.

None of this though prepared me for his uh...gift? It was with great pride about a week after the whole kidnapping thing that he presented a watch as if it were a fresh kill.

"Uh...it's a watch?" I wasn't entirely sure how to respond, because it was sleek sure but nothing all that impressive just looking at it. He chuckled though thankfully and just took my left hand gently in his own to wrap it round my wrist.

"Yes, what a profound observation squirt." He said with a teasing smile before tapping at the screen. Oh so he made the apple watch like half a decade early, alright then. "This isn't just a watch."

"Oh goodie, now I can count my steps and walk five hundred miles." Never let it be said that sarcasm is not one of my strong suits.

"...What? No," He sighed and mumbled under his breath, "this keeps track of your vitals, among a few other tricks." Faintly I could hear some whirring coming from the item in question paired with the shifting I could feel against my skin.

I sighed, "Let me guess, it's not going to come off is it?"

"Ding ding ding we have a winner!"

"You  _do_  know just how entirely unethical this is right?" This was an unspoken compromise, I could have freedom (cough going to the bathroom without Happy behaving as a shadow cough) and still be kept relatively safe seeing as Jarvis undoubtedly would know the very moment something was off.

"You are taking this surprisingly well." His brows furrowed with confusion, I pressed my thumbs into the crease to smooth everything with a grin.

"Он отмечает вас, как будто вы его." (He marks you as if you were his.) was growled out to our left where the Soldier was standing against the doorframe one hand looking suspiciously as if he were holding a knife.

"Он пытается защитить меня, оставь это." (He is just trying to keep me safe, leave it.) my response was curt and firm, not about to let him actually hurt Tony.

"Ah ah ah no Russian with the scary assassin keep it English so everyone understands." It was both teasing and not, he always got a twinkle in his eye when I spoke Russian but it was just due to me speaking it with the Soldier that had his panties in a twist.

"But you speak Italian to me and I don't know that!" He grinned and prattled on with a wink.

"Lo so, e il fatto che tu ci provi è adorabile. Ti amo così tanto e mi spaventi. Come hai gestito questa mia piccola stella?" The weird part about being astute to languages and just having a talent for them is you just  _know_  random words you hear but none of the sentence actually makes any sense put together. Like, for example, I heard the obvious ones like 'I' 'adorable' and 'star', but other than that there were so many other words that the context just eluded me.

I pouted but rolled my eyes knowing that I could just get back at him by continuing to speak in Russian. That will show him… I snickered at the thought.

I.F.

Pepper herself was a no nonsense, take the bull by the horns, kind of woman. Had to be to put up with Da-...Tony… for so long. Interestingly she has a soft spot for me, instantly choosing my side more often than not when Tony and I squabble over various things.

But even she had to give a double take seeing the Soldier. I'll give it to her he certainly is...something else. Surprisingly enough he hasn't gone all...murder-ie (more than normal that is) during the time he has been here.

But hold that that because TIMELINE WHAT THE HELL?! What is going on? How did I manage to screw things up THIS badly? I didn't even do anything on purpose! Seriously because if you mess with time time messes with you but  _harder_. Basically time is like that older brother where you poke them jokingly and they smack you back into last week in retaliation. Bucky wasn't supposed to have defected from Hydra until 2014, which is about five years in the future. He has been getting marginally better. Or maybe I'm just seeing what I want to see.

Speaking of seeing things I want to see, "Ian!" I shrieked with glee racing across the labspace crashing into his legs.

"Kiki!" He exclaimed before giving my head a noogie...suddenly I am debating how excited I am to see him. "I've been all lonesome here where have you been?"

With a deadpan expression I said, "Busy being kidnapped and getting a shadow as scary as I truly am." His face was hilarious, a mix of confusion and just being  _so_  freaked out he didn't even know how to respond.

"Oh so a puppy? What kind of dog did you get?"

With smug amusement I said, "An Assassin." Said assassin in question was definitely in the near vicinity, I couldn't see him but I just knew. Ian chuckled clearly thinking it was a joke. "C'mon c'mon show me your stuff!" If anything I was the excitable puppy in this scenario.

"Alright, alright hold you hecken horses." I almost screeched to a halt.

"'Hecken'?" He grinned in response and put on a pompous air.

"One must never  _curse_  before the most dignified of Stark ladies! What would thine mother say!"

"Well like I told Tony, you manage to find her you can ask yourself. And for goodness sake Iano Mamano I'm not a Stark." That had him taking hold of my hand and finally actually showing his stuff. Course he was sure to get the last word in edgewise as he always did.

"Kiki, if you're not a Stark I'll chug lighter fluid." My peals of laughter could be heard from rooms away after that.

I.F.

"So," I munched on my cereal sending him the side eye, "something on your mind?" The Soldier was sitting opposite me at the bar counter thingie, wherein an island would be in a normal home.

"Flashes, don't make much sense." In the months after the Pilkin's "mysteriously disappeared" (side note how could they have managed to successfully kidnap me with last names like  _Pilkins?!_ ) he has gradually been using English more often. Tony in the same time even loosened the eagle eye of leaving me alone with the Soldier which was more surprising than anything else I've seen so far.

"Like what?" Munch munch munch, gonna be spoon feeding myself not him. I watched as he struggled to put his thoughts together, frustration evident in how tightly he clenched his hands.

"A man, but he is sickly yet not at the same time. A little girl with brown hair worn in braids. Bananas," I smirked inwardly at that one, I  _knew_  he would make that comment, "noises and lights, feeling as if I'm drowning." Jesus bloody hell no wonder he can't make heads nor tails of it all. "But I suppose, you already know the answers to most of it all anyways."

I paled a little, I forgot that there were people who could read me like a book and depending how intune they were the easier and plainer it was for them for see. Silence overcame me and I couldn't respond with the denial I really should be going with. But eventually, a very small nod became the clincher for the little moment.

A/N

So! I was on vacation, so as far as excuses go for a no-show upload that shall do. I even did a surfing lesson and boy oh boy the ocean decided it hated me and that I was to be beaten to a pulp. Anyways, thank you for reading and review for any comments/questions/concerns and I shall see you all in the next one.


	16. Chapter 16

I wasn't able to to explain exactly (mostly redacted versions) of what exactly I knew about him anyways. Music started to blast at deafening levels over all the loudspeakers that I  _thought_  were only in the garage/lab but I guess not! My hands slammed over my ears in an attempt to dampen the noise.

"Tony!" I roared feeling my voice crack at the shrill tone.

"Sorry kiddo no conspiracy theories under this roof!" his voice came in over the speakers somehow louder than the awful "music".

"If you don't turn this off I'm going to kick you so hard between the legs you will become an expert in TUCKING!" The snarl was vicious and I was furious enough to be close to feeling a blood vessel pop in my eye. My current company began to snicker under his breath mirth lighting up his eyes.

"'Подобрав'? Как вы узнали об этом?" (Tucking? How do you know about that?)

"Почему вы удивлены" (Why are you even surprised?) He nodded at my point and turned back to our grilled cheese plate. Now this exchange wasn't really spoken, more mouthed to where we had to read each other's lips because he still hasn't turned it the hell off!

The music cut out and the sudden silence felt just about as jarring as the booming that was shaking my very bones not five seconds ago.

"How  _violent_ , wait til I tell Pepper!" His tone was the kind of false scandalous cry when mocking another for being a prude.

"Once she knows it was against you she would just take my side." I smirked and felt my chin raise in a 'So there!' kind of move.

"That's because you have her wrapped around your little finger." He accused.

"You mean I'm her faaaavorite." Hands settled on hips in the classic Wonder Woman pose showed how awesome yours truly really was.

"Actually it's because you're a child and as the adult I would hope in the back of my mind he would actually behave like one for once," Pepper's voice cut in along with the 'click clack' of her heels. "But you're right you are my favorite."

Her smirk left me cackling with glee over Tony's devastated cries of, "Traitor! I had you longer!" Pepper was just as much of a little shit as the rest of us.

"Yup, and she's cuter than you," she quipped.

"Pepper!" I cried out while pressing my face into her hip, "please please please please  _please_  tell me you're here to save me from this nonsense. I need to escape the testosterone!" Code for, oh my gawd pull rank. She ran a hand through my hair and glanced at her tablet.

"Well I have a new urgent task on my list, go on get your shoes, Tony I need you to sign the forms I sent you.  _Now._ " Her tone was laced with implication that he would be sorry for disobeying. Her posture and body language may not have shown to an outsider that she was clearly the one in charge, but Peps ran a tight ship and one must not ever under any circumstances trifle with Pepper Potts.

"Is Happy coming?" I questioned while shoving my feet into boots that I'd really rather not know the price of, one will never get used to being "Stark" levels of spoiling.

"Nah, I thought I'd drive us for this one, girl bonding time. No boys allowed!" She stage whispered, eyes glittering with the quote unquote inside joke. Running up I clutched at her hand feeling it swing in time with our steps.

I.F.

Turns out 'Girl Bonding Time™' was going to Pepper's favorite spa and having their staff coo for multiple hours and being pampered. Which, can I say, hell yes! I'm a natural borne performer it's practically in my very blood to be at least a little bit of a narcissist. In only the best of ways of course.

Speaking of being a performer, let's just take a moment to flash back to the car ride here and give a moment to appreciate the glory that is Pepper Potts...again. It started when the song 'Bubbly' started to play over the radio. That song is a classic! Practically criminal to not sing along to such a feel good song, so obviously I did.

Normally when I sing I don't have an audience because to be frank I'm just alone a lot. So when she started to sing along I was so startled I almost fell on a flat note, which on this song is pretty difficult. But my God! This woman can SING and it was the most amazing experience of my life. Beaming I joined back in with an enthused vigor that had her laughing between the lines. Like, I knew that Gwyneth Paltrow could sing, anyone who was at least a little gay and artsy fartsy while  _living_ for gossip would have seen her on Glee...DOES GLEE EXIST HERE?! God I'm going to have to Google that, time travelling sucks!

While I was getting my toes painted the sparkliest purple I could find, I could overhear a conversation while Pepper got her manicure.

"Lord honey does he not give you enough to do? You practically run the place for him and now he has you playing nanny for the kid he's taken in?" The lady doing her nails was doing a terrible job of even attempting to not be overheard.

"Patricia I'm the one that chose to spend time with her, he didn't even ask me to when she first was brought home. Someone needs to be sure she eats enough, sleeps, actually talks to her, able to do the little things that a girl needs." I'd like to think her tone was a little cool.

"Oh hon," this is gonna suck, "he's got you playing mom for that poor little girl."

I froze, felt the ice slide down my back and everything. So I did what I did best when faced with problems.

"I need to go use the restroom," I mumbled, trying to hide the shellshock. The nice gal who dried my toes under the UV light pointed me towards the correct door, but instead I slipped out the spa altogether unnoticed, slipping through people hiding in plain sight.

The beach wasn't too far from here, a two mile walk was nothing and brought me to a secluded area on the water completely empty of other human beings.

I forgot, forgot my mother. This entire time I've been living the god damn high life and haven't once thought about how she would be taking my disappearance. Short answer? She wouldn't, I knew exactly how she would take it and it made me so sick that my lunch actually came up. I guess I couldn't avoid it any longer…

Staring despondently out at the water the sounds wafted over leaving me just lost in my own head. What...was the point? Of me being here seriously what was the point? Especially seeing as all it seems to be doing is screwing things up royally. What if I really could...do something by choice though? Say save another popsicle?

Does it count as hiding when I knew that someone would come for me eventually? Like he didn't know the moment I got more than 500 feet from Pepper, I huffed while rolling my eyes. It's impossible to have any breathing room with Big Brother overhead. Literally, sigh.

"Have you finished your sulk?" He did not sound pleased, I'm not in the mood to snark back.

"No, can we just...sit here awhile?" My voice was small, nearly as much as the way I looked curled into a defensive ball. Surprisingly no angry retort came back; instead after a moment of thought he, rather noisily, sat next to me on the sand.

"What's bouncin round the nogin kiddo?"

"The lady said Pepper was having to 'play mom' for me." Can't leave it like that he needs it spelled out a bit more, "I miss her, it  _hurts_  so much Tony. Like it's trying to stay in my chest while simultaneously being torn out."

"What about your dad?"

My smile was bitter as I spat out, "Fuck that guy."

Tony inhaled and held his breath for a second, "Okay I'll let you have that one, only that one! If only because I can feel kid." Funnily enough my dad treated me a lot like Howard did to Tony, only he also used me, tried to manipulate me to hurt my mother by trying to have me play into his own sick personal agenda. Thanks dad, wonderful job well done.

"Welcome to the club, let 'Daddy Issues and Emotional Constipation' meeting numero uno commence." We even have cookies!

"Nice one," We stared out at the water, letting the silence remain unbroken. I've always loved the seaside, unfortunately this water might be a bit more polluted than most I've been in.

"I'm sorry about ghosting, just had to be alone."

"It's Pep you have to apologize to not me," The shame and guilt hit like a baseball bat to the ribs, hiding my face in my arms made me feel as young as I looked. "She's not mad, just scared."

"Same thing."

"Can you blame her? She has to deal with both of us now, I'm not surprised she is very 'mom' like. It's not like I know what I'm doing in that regard."

I raised a brow, "What a surprise you don't know how to be a mother, truly Tony I'm shocked." He ruffled my hair with a chuckle and I leaned into his side even with his mutter of "brat" that I knew was said with a smile.

Another long pause, he kept starting to say something but stopping right as it was about to come out, jesus man just spit it out the anticipation is kill-

"I've filed the papers," -ing me… wait what? He elaborated due to the bewildered expression scrunching my brows. "You're mine now, at least in paper since it might as well have been so even before then." He sucks at explaining. He bit his lip nervously at my lack of a reaction, "I adopted you?"

Oh...OH...when the hell did this happen?! Never mind that!

"Anika? OOF!" I slammed into him, probably almost punching him in the face from how violently I was hugging him. My dirty little secret was how deeply ingrained the desire to be wanted, to be chosen, was set into me. To be a permanent choice over a use and throw away like a paper towel. "I got you," I felt him shift and another set of hands softly landed on my back, slender yet strong.

"We've got you sweetheart." I almost didn't hear her from how softly she murmured it, but say it she did. That prompted the switch from hugging Tony to Pepper, oddly I haven't been able to hug her as much as Tony or even have really any physical affection. Now though was different, especially in the way she melted into the hold with a sigh. What a day, what a day indeed.

"Can we go home?"

"Of course mio caro," Tony said but his eyes were misty.

"Why are you crying?" Curiouser and curiouser, one would think I'd have cried enough for the lot of us. He stood while scooping my body up into a koala baby hold.

"Non ho abbastanza tempo da darti bambino."

I grumbled while resting my head on his shoulder keeping an eye on Pepper, "One of these days I'll learn Italian so you can't keep doing this...Я люблю тебя." I murmured as we leisurely made our way to the car, home again home again on our way home.

A/N

****EDIT****

So! This is a reupload because the AMAZING Federica Capagna helped me with the Italian on this one. You are the real mvp thank you so much.

So I was bad and having writer's block because oh my god Iron Man 2 I just need to GET there. So close, soooooo close then onto the next point. I was binging Glee and then also got feels smacked listening to "I get to love you" by Ruelle seriously read the last few scenes over again listening to that song and that's what it was like writing it. So yeah I decided to beat the angst pillow...again...when is block AAAANNNGGGSSSTTTT straight into fluff as you do


	17. Chapter 17

"Anika Bethany Stark! What are you dawdling we have places to see parties to crash!"

With all the swagger in my tiny body I slid into view round the corner, colored sunglasses on paired with my rainbow heelys. Tilting the shades down my nose to raise a brow at him showed my opinion on that particular attempt. "Nope, hate it."

He snapped his fingers but I could see the grin sneaking through his attempts to keep a straight face, "Shoot, I'll get it just you wait n' see shortstack!" He's been on this quest to obtain a fitting middle name that would 'sound badass enough to be worthy of a Stark'. Gotta thank one especially young reporter who came up with that particular gem.

We, for some odd reason, had to make it a big announcement spectacle so we could beat out any press stories that could try to spin it into something or another. Truthfully I wasn't really listening, caring about the public's opinion of me was so far off my list of priorities it might as well be in the stratosphere...or back in my universe take your pick. But, it was important to Pepper so I strapped my performer's persona on and played the part like a boss. I was dressed up like a doll and I charmed the smarmy pants off of the entire room. You know because I do have a name now to live up to according to the world since that was a thing apparently.

Anyway long winded tangent aside, basically he has been coming up with a series of increasingly awful possible middle names to complete the title. "And that day is most certainly not today." Softening the blow with affection was in order because he was actively pouting with the full lower lip stuck out. "This is really important to you, isn't it?" Tony shrugged and fiddled with a program that was literally his "This makes me look like I'm busy so excuse me struggling to have an emotion" feature, which hey other people may not be as smart as myself to see it but hey well done me. "Race you to the car!"

Shrieking with giggles they paired with his indignant yells chasing not far behind. "You're a cheating cheater who cheats!"

"That's cause you're too slow old man!" Bucky shouted from out of  _nowhere_  and threw me over his shoulder, "Kid's mine now!" Pause for a second, now so far he hasn't remembered much...as far as he has said. I personally think he is lying to us all though the reason why I really can't even put my finger on. But, over the past months he has come to the point where he plays along with the insanity, I knew he would just admit defeat and drink the kool aid eventually.

"Jarvis activate 'Cradle Robbing' protocol." Lovely, we have a freaking claw robotic arm thing built into the walls now. That was programed to literally pluck my sorry bum out of Bucky's hold and deposit into Tony's. Admittedly it's FAR from the weirdest thing he's done yet. "Gotcha!"

Nimble mechanic's fingers found all vulnerable ticklish spots. Shrieking I started to swat at his hands trying in vain to wriggle and flail away, but the laughs were only spurring him on.

"Tony! Stop it! Nooooo-ho-ho-oooooo!" and after hitting the one on my neck, "Dad!" Time came to a stand still, Tony staring wide eyed with a glimmer and Bucky just as frozen.

"Yeah?" Tony breathed, not even daring to move. God, what do I do? I can't take it back in case he hates it word is out! But...he  _isn't_ taking it bad, oh my god.

"Hi," feeling suddenly overcome by shyness my face was burning a bright crimson, and I was sorely tempted to tuck my face down to hide.

"Hi bambina," he hitched ne up higher on his hip, "c'mon, Pep's waiting on us." We were almost out the door of the hall before he called over his shoulder, "You too Terminator! Said it was an 'all hands on deck' meeting."

I.F.

So guess who has a new "Manny"? People were getting WAY too curious about the house guest who was more rumor than fact, and of course, guess who came in with a Solution™? I really hope you guessed Pepper because if you didn't have you been living under a rock?

Ergo, "James" gets to be my personal plaything for when Tony like actually truly needs to do his own work and not avoid it. Modern haircut and a camouflaging sleeve and he looks like an entirely different man, the power of a haircut should not be underrated. Unfortunately he got to have his patience tested again and again whenever it would be his turn now that he was added to the "pass the baby Stark" rota. And not just because I'm fantastic at cheating with games like Uno and Clue. Clue especially seriously it takes me less than ten minutes when the cards are spread out so with two people it was frustratingly easy.

He and Tony were not subtle with trying to show the other up, in any capacity. The trump card though was every time I called him dad it seemed. God men are weird I won't even begin to try and understand. Like I knew Tony was possessive, but why would Bucky get angry whenever Tony gets super smug about me calling him "Dad"?

Whatever, if neither of them want to actually talk about their feelings then I'm not about to chase after them to try and force it out of them. Lord knows that wouldn't go well.

Hilariously, Ian was such an annoying little shit once he heard about the adoption. He just would not let it go that he TOLD me so, he  _knew_  I was a Stark through and through. I just think he is a smug piece of shit but who was I to judge? A mother flumping Stark that's who, I can raise the defiant chin like nobody's business.

I.F.

"Dad?" the word still feels foreign on my tongue but I've been having to psyche myself up for the past few weeks to ask this. And if I have been very subtly buttering him up in that time frame, well, it was for a good cause.

"Yeah pumpkin?" Will the nicknames ever cease? I'm just kidding I am always amused by them.

"We need to find Captain America."

I watched as his body language changed to being closed and defensive. "Why should we busy ourselves trying to find a dead man Anika?" Oops, better tread carefully, he pretty much never uses my full first name unless he was in a tood.

"Because you know just as well as I do that he isn't." Using his smartliness against him? Talk about a dirty move.

He scoffed and held his jaw clenched, "Oh I do do I? Pray tell how I know that?"

"Because you refuse to acknowledge that we have James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes under our roof. If he is still kicking then he would be as well." Anika going straight for the killing blow, ouch.

"Yes and what did I say about conspiracy theories?"

"My response to that would be I have  _eyes_ , and that you ran facial recognition on him about five minutes after he got here. Boom theory proved, so why are you ignoring it?" He turned and started to walk away, oh hell no not on my watch. "Don't ignore me! I have Pepper and Jarvis on my side with this one but I don't want to force you. I would rather you talk to me Dad, please don't make me." I really really suck at backing down from a fight, there is a reason why my Mom would call me Bossy Boots after all.

He sighed, "Why?"

Oh thank god, "For him, for Granny, and for you. I know for a fact all the stories he told you about him are pretty much ninety percent bull and hero worship. In fact, if saw his true colors you'd see he is...something else entirely." Shit, shit, that was probably way too much said. It was obvious, he was compiling everything I just said into various boxes inside his head.

"...okay." Whaaaaaat? But when his hands lightly held my biceps I realized I was shaking and my stomach felt like it was about to purge itself. "Okay, why not? C'mon let's go upstairs, let's go."

Sitting on the couches with glasses of cocoa in hand we watched Star Wars. Tony was still salty over how he thought he got to see a "what he's his FATHER?!" reaction until he found out I've already seen all the movies.

"How about Margaret?" He suddenly piped up while poking at my foot.

"Margaret? Like Granny?"

He rolled his eyes with a teasing smile, "How did you know that was her actual name?"

"The same way I know she lied about her age to get into the army, I'm a genius." I mean it's true but I was more joking than anything else especially with the mocking tone and hand pressed to my chest.

"I've created a monster, it's official."

"I think it's only fitting that your kid be just as bad as yourself Stark." Bucky said from the second chair. Tony paused and I actually watched as his eyes just about popped out of his head.

"Daddy?" What the hell could be wrong?

"You are never allowed to start dating boys." He said gravely.

"Ew boys." I pulled a face.

Bucky chuckles, "You'll be singing a different tune later doll." I locked eyes with Tony and pulled the most  _serious_  expression I could while mouthing "No," shaking my head. I'm feeling a flash back to my original childhood years, being told the exact same thing. Well, not ALL boys are bad. Most just seemed to have a magical power where the moment they start talking suddenly they no longer are attractive because whatever they said was gross.

"That's my girl!" Tony stuck his tongue out at Bucky childishly. "Anika Margaret Stark you make me proud!"

"Alright alright that one will work, but only because it's her." We clinked our mugs together and let the sounds of blasters replace the chatter.

A/N

To be honest I'm just trying to get to the layer of this sandwich lmfao

Questions comments concerns?

Til the next time


	18. Chapter 18

I never doubted that something would once again come to disrupt the peace, I just never actually expected it to come this soon. Which come on! I was like really enjoying the moments I was getting with Tony, Pepper, Bucky, Rhodey, and Happy. I mean the competitiveness was annoying, a smeedge cute for like five minutes maybe. Though the parties of the competing of course was just the boys because of course it was.

Rhodey and Happy were loudly vying for the "Favorite Uncle" slot, in increasingly ridiculous and hilarious ways. At first it was subtle enough that I didn't notice a thing. I was just naive enough to assume that Rhodey and Happy for some reason might not have gotten along very well. It was only until the stakes seemed to get higher that I noticed the glares and posturing was all very new according to Tony and Pepper. He, being the instigator he naturally is, started with only calling one of them "Uncle _" and the other just by their name during various occasions. Flipping between which one he called Uncle just stirred the pot.

Now as for Bucky, Tony tried to do the joke on him but at the severe pained expression that wrecked his face he never actually tried it again. Probably reminded of his sisters and how they have had children of their own he never got to see grow up, the poor man. But weirdly he and Tony seemed to be in their own secret battle of wills. I say secret because while I may not know why I just know that it exists. I've already tried asking them what the hell it was about, but since neither would fess up I don't see gleaming answers any time soon.

It seemed like no coincidence that Pepper put me in performing arts classes by the time the order for Tony to be brought to "court" for the Iron Man suit came about. The timing was much too seamless for it to be anything but premeditated. I wasn't  _complaining_  or anything because oh my god this is literally the single most amazing thing she could have placed me in even if it stemmed from keeping me out of the loop of court proceedings. Because they all still thought I was seven and that court dealings would just be "too adult" ugh adults. But, it just meant I saw less and less of Tony and Pepper the further in it all went.

Happy and Bucky I got to see the most just on a day to day basis, Happy to drive to and from the studio and Bucky acting like a very scary stand in "Manny" as Tony loves to joke every chance he could get.

And then there was the matter of the Stark Expo over in the Big Apple. One of the many reasons that Tony and Pepper seemed to be close to blows practically every thirty seconds recently. It was, actually a lot closer to normal than anything else that has happened to me in the time span I have been here. But it wasn't one that I wanted to return to, fighting parents usually meant that sides had to be taken because those who try to play the middle man always got shot in the end. The problem was I actually could see both of their points but I leaned towards Tony's with how it actually could be an investment; one for PR as well as finding the next upcoming in the world of Science! And making the world just a better place. Then again, the timing most definitely could have been better...way better.

Though I wasn't involved until one seemingly very normal Tuesday coming back from Ballet practice. Still completely decked out in the gear this time it was only Bucky with me because Tony was having some Happy Time and didn't feel like sharing. But I easily invaded on that time because I was a little shit and actually wanted to see Tony...you know for once this week…

"Kiddo! Welcome back, toes broken yet?" He panted out between punches he threw at the pads that covered Happy from head to toe.

"No Dad nothing broken, though if they ever were I have my doubts that I would say so." He scoffed before ducking a swing.

"Where's Terminator?"

"Setting things up for us to binge Doctor Who," I was a total cheater who predicted everything but shhh what they all don't know won't hurt them. Pepper was coming down the hall, her heels proclaiming her arrival far faster than her voice.

"The Notery's here, can you please come out here and sign the transfer paperwork?" Transfer paperwork? Wait, wait a- my brain froze and the blood shot out of my face fast enough that I felt instantly dizzy. I never had a date for when these events went down in the first place like everything else but now I felt horrifically unprepared for absolutely all of this.

Natasha Romanoff, Natalia Romanova, currently Natalie Rushman, and a variety of other aliases behind her, was strutting in with a folder no doubt filled with the paperwork Pepper was talking about. I was more focused on the way she was walking, why was she doing it in such a bizarre way? It was almost like she was trying to make herself seem just slightly awkward in such high heels, like she has some grace but not enough to have had much practice in those stilettos.

My dance bag dropped from my numb fingers with a loud clunk from the variety of things that were inside, of course getting the two ladies' attention upon myself.

"Anika don't leave your bag on the floor, how many times-" Pepper paused before kneeling down and placing the back of her fingers upon my forehead then my cheeks and neck, "honey are you alright? What's the matter?"

Keeping my eyes locked on with "Rushman's" my voice was thin muttering out, "Nothing, I'm fine." She didn't look convinced, but was easily distracted by Tony making eyes on the other redhead and just...in general acting like a creep. When she started to berate him, seriously sexual harrassment suits are expeeeensive, I poked her shoulder repeatedly saying, "Pep pep pep pep pep pep," along with every poke. It was annoying but it got me her phone like I needed.

*Do NOT come out of your room, we have company BAD company*

His response came very quickly after.

*Shouldn't that mean I come out there маленькая звезда?*

I glanced between each person in the room as my fingers flew across the buttons.

*Bad company like would recognize you and her cover would be blown bad*

Well now that that cat is out of the bag I glanced up again and realized it wasn't Tony that the Black Widow was leveling her focused gaze upon, it was  _me._

"Rule number one, never take your eye off your op-" Happy's lesson was well and kicked to the curb as she used her own body to level him to the ground in only the most badass of moves I have ever seen in my life. Pepper was exclaiming loudly in alarm rushing up to see if there were injuries and Tony looked on in awe, I meanwhile was losing my shit cackling with laughter. I couldn't help it I did it the first time I saw that scene and I did every time thereafter. Seeing it in person was just even better.

Glancing at the table I was faced with her "Modelling in Tokyo" photos because why not have that be on her resume that would be oh so easy for Tony to find. And to think Shield thinks I don't know how they tick.

"I want one," I could hear Tony say, but I was still eye to eye with one very scary nimble spider. She wasn't doing much to hide her skills, but then again that is just in my opinion the majority of people would literally shrug it all off and not even think to question any of what just happened. Normal people just weren't like me.

I cleared my throat and pointed at the pictures with a scrunched set of brows, "Really?"

Tony shrugged, leaving me to start to head off only for Pepper to again call up, "Bag!"

I.F.

Bucky was, let's just say not exactly  _enthused_  that I knew enough about his past (cough all of it cough) to be able to warn him that the Black Widow was downstairs and there was the chance of her getting recognized. That was a bit of an event and a half trying to explain my way out of that one.

"How do you know who she is?" The "to me," as I was hearing at the end of that sentence wasn't added on.

"I've been able to identify every agent the organization Shield has had trying to watch us, Dad thinks it's just because of him though." His unamused demeanor expressly told me to continue, "Dad at first sent me away, to the foster system." His face darkened even further, "And while the first family was weird they were just weird in the way only normal people can be. The second were a pair of agents."

"And how did you know she was connected to me?"

At that I rolled my eyes, "Really? Take one look at the both of ya it's impossible not to bounce to that conclusion. Plus her accent has the teensiest of Russian under it all." He seemed convinced for now, thank god for being seven?

"Fine, but we still need to pack for Monaco." I groaned and bodily dead man dropped onto his matress.

"But I HATE packing! And race cars are boring all we're going to be doing there is playing 'Stark' instead of anything actually fun." Pouting usually got him to give in, mostly because Tony attempted to be the rule enforcer and it would annoy the crap out of him.

But this time, while he did roll his eyes at the childish behavior, he still threw me up to sit on his shoulders. "Come now you know the race is a very short part of the vacation! We have plenty of normal fun things to do as well so let's get on it."

"Promise?"

He chuckled as I poked at his nose, "Promise маленькая звезда."

A/N

The lies! The deception! Oh just wait until it all comes crashing down...


	19. Chapter 19

"This is so stupid," I hated race cars, well just watching them doing a race. Think way back to when Disney had that stupid stunt car show that totally bombed. We went to see it and left about fifteen minutes into it because it was so boring. Back in my old life that is. Unfortunately it seems I won't have such an easy escape.

Turns out, he actually hired Rushman. Even with Pepper and I being steely eyed the entire time. Pepper was so annoyed that she grabbed me by the hand and straight up charged out of the house. She was nice enough to rap on Bucky's door and have him come too at least. It was basically a bigger version of a play date, because Bucky actually got along with Ian just about as much as I did. Though he definitely saw him almost like a younger brother it was highly amusing.

"Incredibly, now I can see why you were so against this." Bucky agreed with me while pulling at the starch stiff collar of his shirt. Ornaments representing the Stark name, and Dad was late.

"Well hello," oh dear holy mother please let it not be- "the littlest Stark! It's so nice to finally meet you, I'm good friends with your Daddy!" Now I do sometimes call him that because he really is like my  _Dad_  but hearing him say it like that made me throw up in my mouth a little.

"Hammer, if you and my Dad were ever actually friends I'll eat a shoe." He looked thrown by the comment but recovered with an uncomfortable laugh.

"She's feisty too! I- whoa big guy." He tried to get too close, and now Bucky had his wrist in a vice grip.

"I'd recommend," he purred, "a nice lengthy distance. Take the opposite side of the room, if you will." Hammer nodded and was just short of sprinting to get to the bar. Bucky huffed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Want some pomade?" He quirked a brow and laughed seeing me actually holding up the pot.

"Why do you just have that on you?"

Flicking my hair with a hand I sassily quipped, "I have curls darling you think these are this smooth without it?" He leveled me with just a  _look._

"You curl your hair with rags overnight."

"Yes, Bucky, and have you not seen what happens when you brush them out? It's a lion's mane, total Hermione Granger." He snickered but accepted the pomade. I took a sip from my drink, a chug if we're being real it's hot as balls, right before a gasp caused the liquid to go into my lungs and straight out my nose. It was a ghastly sight, one where I was choking and gagging because I couldn't  _breathe_  and brought the entire room's attention onto me. Including the one woman who caused the fit to begin with who he SAID he didn't invite!

"Hey hey! You okay? Damnit breathe already!" Bucky rubbed my back in circles the way one would in order to prompt a baby to cry, or...someone with asthma to breathe.

Romanoff has bled through her Rushman exterior and I could see the way she knew she recognized him, just not sure as to where or under what circumstances. I scrambled up his torso using my extremities to cling like a baby koala, maybe if a supposed innocent bystander was in the way there would be no shots taken? Might be too much to hope for.

"She's here!" I didn't have to elaborate because he saw her too, I could feel him tense and specifically place his left hand at the back of my head. After all it is the perfect cover for bullets and all. "What the hell do we do?"

He chewed on his tongue, "We play our parts." I was confused, we had been made, but then I heard Dad's boisterous voice over the din of everyone else. That's right, she is here for him and can't break her cover so if we act like nothing's wrong we can get away with it until we can run. It sounds like a feasible plan right? Knowing my luck it is going to just...flop in epic proportions.

"I don't like it." It was risky, far too risky and if it was one thing I was bad at it was going for risky things like gambling.

"Well unfortunately it looks like you don't have to like it to do it, suck it up buttercup." People were beginning to stare but just...whatever. They don't matter, none of these uppity rich folk do. "Does something seem...off about him to you?" Bucky was always quiet with his observations about Tony, never actually voicing them to me directly and more often than not going to Pepper if he ever brought an issue up at all. So this? This was bad with an entire suitcase as a side of bad.

"Reckless? Doing dangerous things for no apparent reason? Having a devil may care attitude about any repercussions of actions he makes when he wasn't like this a few months back? Yeah Buck, I kinda noticed." I was worried beyond anything comprehensible seeing this because I knew what was going on, just how the hell do I fix it? Seriously some divine intervention with some answers would be  _really_  great!

Bucky started to move and I saw Natalia-Natalie-Natasha-Insert-Name-Here trying to creep around close enough to eavesdrop. "If you don't act like an average seven year old people are going to ask questions."

"They do," I rolled my eyes because he has witnessed it countless times, "and you know yourself that you mention the all mighty magic words of 'she is a geeeeeenius' and they literally will ask no further questions." I huffed, "Couldn't run an interrogation if they- tried...what is he doing?" It wasn't a question of what over why, because this man is about to give me ulcers and I am much too young for that thank you very much. "Bucky we have to stop him. Bucky!"

The muscle in the side of his jaw was ticking in clear indecision, just long enough for me to throw myself down and dart through legs as was my special trick.

"Anika!" He barked shoving his way through patrons after me, which honestly they were all too easy. I should probably feel bad about these manipulations on the people who actually really cared about me, but one is being really stupid and is trying to get himself killed... alrighty guilty feelings gone! He may be the Winter Soldier, but I have height and circumstances on my side. That wasn't stopping him from  _quickly_  catching up.

"I swear to god kid I will TAN your hide if you don't get your ass back where I can keep you safe." He was pissed, no big surprise there, probably because I was just as reckless as every other idiot in his life.

"Save Dad first then you can beat me later." I threw over my shoulder still marching on towards the fenceline. Where the hell was he? We had to get to him before Russian ripoff-oh shitty sprinkles.

He was walking as if God kissed the ground before his feet, full of bravado showing exactly how highly he thought of himself. My face hardened and I started to charge for the opening of the gate but was stopped by literally being lifted by the scruff. He picked me up like a naughty cat!

"Nuh uh, you are going back to Ms Potts and she is going to get you somewhere safe."

Snarling at the  _audacity_  I kicked my feet out hoping to land on him because oh HELL no. "In your dreams сука!" Rude? Yes. Did it actually get me a smack on the butt? ...unfortunately also yes. The timing of my scream afterwards actually made him flinch thinking he might have hit just a bit too hard. That is until "Dad!" The scream was earsplitting, most definitely for Bucky due to the enhanced senses. His shock had him accidentally dropping lose his hold simply because of the sheer absurdity of the villain in front of him.

I mean the whips were just SO extra just come on man, the only person who make those cool is Indiana Jones. I'm an idiot, like I am really stupid, whatever genius out there who donated their smartness genes so that I could have the brains I do would be weeping right now from how I was squandering it all just to be stupid...I ran out onto the track. You know like that total idiot I just mentioned. Well not a complete and total idiot, I palmed a couple of guns off of Bucky on the way down because as a child who would want for nothing of course I would be a well practiced pick pocket, because obviously. Mr. Villain, whose name I can't for the life of me actually waste the time of trying to remember, was actually startled seeing this dumbass kid actually run right  _towards_  the danger and paused in his onslaught if only for a moment.

Several things happened all at once; Dad's face blooming into horrified fury when he fully realized it was ME out there with him, me tossing him one of the guns, Mr. Villain beginning to charge once more, and finally the car that Dad and Pepper arrived in slamming into Mr. Villain right up into the fence. I nearly just about became Anika paste on the track had I not been wrenched out of the way via the scruff again which, can it just be said that it stung like a bitch to be yanked around like that.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He yelled eyes glinting, "No nevermind, what the HELL is she doing here?!" He turned his ire onto an equally furious Bucky Barnes.

"YOU try holding her back from doing something stupid since she is aparently  _your kid_ , it was YOU she was bound and determined to go after!"

Pepper was screaming, Happy was trying to get someone anyone to tell him who was all okay or not. "Are you out of your mind?!" Oh shit I have never ever heard her like this before, and I wasn't entirely sure if she was talking to Tony or both of us.

"I was attacked!" He was equally matching her volume waving his arm over at Mr. Villain McGee while Pepper was shrieking for us to get in the car getting shriller by the second. Jesus the lot of us were going to all have ripped vocal cords by the time this was all over.

I could hear him grumbling about how this was the first vacation he had taken in two years, but I interrupted with a gasp of fear at the psychotic expression of the man on the hood of the car who was very much not dead...for all of three seconds before Bucky cut right to the chase and ach hem, pop pop if you catch my drift.

We all stopped and gaped because how on earth were you supposed to react to the threat suddenly just not being a problem all easy peasy.

"Well that was anticlimactic." I drawled in what I will admit was way too sarcastic a tone. It was also the wrong, oh so very wrong thing to say when everyone's emotions were running high. Whelp, this was a nice life, glad to see I at least got to pee my pants meeting Miss Romanoff because without a doubt I was about to have 'Death by Tony Stark' become engraved upon my tombstone.

"Car. Now." He pointed at me, then at the car respectively, and the way he said it pretty much had me locking up in a different kind of fear. No back talk, no sass, I climbed in and sat beside Pepper who was still hyperventilating. Huh, maybe this was a bad idea. I was still not used to a paternal figure getting angry that I throw myself into dangerous situations, if only because the almost two ish years doesn't really beat out the twenty years worth of conditioning I already have under my belt.

But he was quiet in the car, quiet during the agonizing trip to the tarmac, quiet right up until we were boarding the plane. Mostly because he was coming back after us because he was going to be dealing with all the government folk that want to know what the hell is going on.

He stopped me with a clearing of his throat, "We're not done here, we'll deal with this once I get back." No real room to argue or anything, but I wasn't in the mood to argue like at all. Who would when you just knew your head was on the chopping block? The only annoying part? He was purposely leaving me to stew waiting for him to get back, in guilt? Probably...actually. And to think I was originally more worried about his "personal assistant" just this morning, amazing how quickly one's perspective can change I guess.

A/N

Hi? So, I've been mia and I'm soooorrryyyyy my brain has been out of the groove and trying to spit out the really really really DARK AF stuff you should see the insanity that are the note pages of my laptop and phone. But I got this one out, I'm...not too sure about it tbh but anyhoo it's done. With the way my work schedule has been I'll try to get the next one out faster but no promises of a timeline because that is just ASKING for something to blow up.


	20. Chapter 20

I never actually thought I would ever be sent to my room for a time out ever again, then again I never thought I would be in the body of a child, so there are a lot of things I never expected.  But yeah, I was basically supposed to stay here until Tony comes back to read me the riot act. Which...c'mon totally not fair I was FINE, been in worse situations by a long shot. Not even the first semi deadly situation I've been in with this lifetime, my previous had its own fair share.  Which is rather impressive for being a nobody who lived in the middle of nowhere. Then again there are shitty people everywhere in the world so why wouldn't I have somehow managed to befriend one, goddamn bleeding heart always got me into trouble with the wrong sort before I managed to learn.  So it's fine, everything is fine...after all I'm always fine. I can be fine, fine is okay because no one ever really questions when you're fine do they?

"Pouting in your exile?"  I thought the intruder was Pepper or Bucky, it was why I ignored whoever opened the door with my back pointedly turned away.  This proved to be a mistake because now I was cornered. So many mistakes.

"You're not allowed in here."  Keeping my tone neutral and my attention locked on whatever bullshit was on my floor that I've been fiddling with was a clear dismissal if any.  I wasn't in the mood to deal with someone psychoanalyzing me while I already felt low, not that that was exactly a new thing with me.

"Making demands while in the doghouse is a bit bold."  Don't...she is trying to instigate a response. Anika you are better than this you can handle not losing your temper for ONCE in your freaking life.  "Cat got your tongue?"

"Trying to see if I'm dangerous?"  I quipped hoping to god Jarvis would be still online enough to save my ass from a whoopin.

"I hardly think 'dangerous' would be a word associated with you."  Ah ha, but she doesn't think she already knows that I am. Just not why, and it's not even the kinda sorta bad things I've done while here that she should be worried about.  Since my being here is probably tearing apart the timeline at the very seam of this reality.

"Natalie Rushman would say that, yes."  I hummed amused, because I actually understood how she was able to pull this off so well.  Putting on the persona isn't just acting, it is a part of yourself that you make the forefront of your very mind.  Natalie Rushman isn't Natasha Romanoff pretending to be a secretary by spying, it is Natasha assimilating the very being Natalie is and only breaking out the lockbox that Natasha has been put inside.  It is by far the most fascinating thing I have ever seen, and no shame she is the one who I studied in order to do just that very same thing. Never let it be said that superhero movies didn't teach me anything.

"That would happen to be my name."

"For now, or at least until you use it again."  Legos, so fascinating, especially because it kept my main focus away from an ever increasingly frustrated super spy who no doubt wanted me to spill so she can be done with my annoying self.  I wouldn't blame her, I know for a fact just how much of an annoying twat I happen to be. She was silent for so long that I had to turn if only for my curiosity's sake. She was still standing in front of the door that I hadn't been aware had even been closed, that's a problem.  "What."

"You are an enigmatic child.  I don't know what to make of you."  This was the truth, she wasn't actually lying here.

"As you are yourself."  She chuckled throatily.

"You seem to be a lot more perceptive than you give yourself credit for."  Now I smirked, I hadn't been discrediting myself at all.

"Oh no I didn't mean to me, not at all."  Giving her one last once over I turned with a clear dismissal, "If that will be all, Ms Rushman."

 

IFIFIF

 

Tony never actually came to my room, I hadn’t even been aware of when he came back because it was just quiet, far too quiet for Tony on any given day.  With all the sneakiness I was capable of using I used it to tip-toe through the house to the location he most likely would be, not very many to choose from if anyone ever really knew him at all.  I had to duck behind a corner when I heard the sound of Uncle Rhodey’s footsteps leaving the garage, as good of a confirmation as any to prove that he was here.

He was just...sitting there in that car in the garage.  Not moving, not saying a word. He was so zoned out that he didn't even notice when I was standing outside the passenger door.  Didn't so much as twitch a muscle when it cluncked open and closed with a thud. His silence had myself sitting in silence right with him, hoping that he managed to quell some of the anger in the time between the race and now.  Every few minutes I glanced over through my lashes to see if anything had changed but he still remained catatonic, and the longer it went on the more scared I became.  

What was interesting with this body, this brain, the lack of being fully developed in the brain specifically, is that it always responded to fear in the ways that I rationally knew were illogical and jumping the gun.  Namely, fear makes this body cry. Most of the time they were quiet but when were tears ever truly silent? I can remember back to when my mother was ill, so very very ill and the only response I had was to hide in the smallest space and cry and cry and cry.  Does anything ever really change? Shows that the base human reactions of people don't.

A sniffle finally made him turn though his eyes were still glassy and unfocused.  It was creepy and I didn't like it, I didn't like how he was looking at me like he didn't recognize me.  It just made everything worse.

"Daddy?"  If I didn't know it was me that the quiet scared murmur came from I'd be actively trying to find the severely distressed kid in question.  He STILL wasn't verbally responding, but his arms reacted to pull me into his chest to the side of the reactor. He doesn't seem to be mentally present though still, eyes gaunt and just god he looks so sick.  He hasn't been around enough for me to truly notice how sick he looked before now. Stupid deflecting bastard. "M' sorry," My face was pressed into his shoulder so it was slightly muffled, not to mention getting interrupted by those weird gasps you make when trying to keep yourself from crying and failing.  

"Don't know what I'm gonna do kid," he just sounded so broken and lost, like how?  How could HE not know what to do he always knows what to do he's Tony Stark!  

"Do?"  He chuckled darkly, tightening his hold to where it was all encompassing.  The reactor was barely shining through his shirt, it almost never did with his recent habit of doubling up.

"You shouldn't worry your pretty little head about it, not about any of this."

I frowned and went stock still, frozen with anguish.  "You're dying," This new laugh he let out was choked and strangled, and I felt his face press into the top of my head.

"Why do you always know the hard things Nika?  You make it so damn hard to try to protect you."  I'm not entirely sure if his question was rhetorical or not, but I guess it could be?

"Save yourself first then you can 'tect me," I mumbled through the fresh tears, he even smelled sick, "you promised."  His breaths were shaking and I felt bad. How to be an insensitive shithead by Anika, coming in to any and all book stores near you.

"Guess I did didn't I."  There, that one was rhetorical.  He always asked rhetorical questions.

Pretending to fall asleep I waited until he tried to pass me off before mumbling, “Howard has the key.”  Body slumped and limp to feign sleep it could have been mindless sleep talk, but hopefully he read way too much into it like he did to everything.

 

IFIF

 

Things should have been going back to normal, since Vanko was defeated and everything seemed to be on track.  Should have been being the key here. But things were about to get hairy and it was basically at the point where if someone so much as sneezed a bomb would go off.  

Bucky didn’t seem to know whether he was more angry with me or with Tony.  I mean mine was for at least for a legitimate reason, I directly disobeyed him and called him a rather nasty name.  Well, there is actually quite the impressive list of reasons as to why he would be angry with me. But Tony? I mean it’s not like he actually got along very well with him to begin with but now it almost seemed utterly irrational just the sheer amount of vitriol that bleeds out of him in Tony’s presence.

Uncle Rhodey hasn’t been around trying to clean up the mess left behind the race, at least that’s the gist I mostly got from Pepper who was trying to do the same damn thing.  How does one describe a house where it is mostly employees that all happen to be family at the same time? Or well...almost family. Not quite there yet.  

I definitely thought the idea of still going through with the birthday party was a BAD idea, for oh so many reasons though none of them I could ever actually say aloud.  If only because no one ever actually listens to me which is complete and utter  _ bullshit _ no wonder kids are frustrated when adults refuse to listen to them.  

In the time since the spy has basically been camped out in my freaking home and I do not appreciate it one bit no sir no siree.  Though my frustrations have kind of...caused me to turn into a baiting asshole. Every time I passed through a room she was in I started to hum “the itsy bitsy spider” really  _ really  _ quietly.  The kind of quiet where she would have to make a double take in order to try and figure out if she heard what she thought she heard.  I was literally asking for her to lash out at me, at least this wasn’t being done where I didn’t know the danger ahead. Basically this just made me a reckless idiot over a naive idiot.  I’m...actually not sure which of those is worse if I think about it. I know she’s heard me, seen the microscopic eye twitch.

That was the other reason I was annoyed at Tony apart from him still going through with that party, every time I could I was trying to tell him that she was a spy.  Only for him to write me off with a small laugh, “I hardly think Rushman is the type for corporate espionage.”  

Every time I would grit my teeth and feel the muscle in my jaw jump, “No, the kind that works for a secret organization kind of spy.”  Still he would write it off and just say I was watching too many spy movies before moving on to another topic, it was annoying. It just about had me ready to scream and tear my hair out.  Why was he so stubborn?! Oh right because he is Tony Stark, why did I even ask?

All I know is that the beat is about to drop, the shit is about to hit the fan, and I was wholefully not prepared in the slightest.  If only because in this reality, Natasha wasn’t the only one playing the game of espionage in this house. I was just determined to NEVER allow any of them to find out.  Knowing my luck though...well, we’ll just see how well that plan goes compared to the success of all my other plans now won’t we?

  
  
  
  
  


A/N

Filler filler filler ugh ew filler


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